Stretching does not reduce muscle soreness

Stretching before or after exercise does not protect against muscle soreness. A systematic review by Herbert and Gabriel (p 468) shows that stretching produces only small and non-significant reductions in muscle soreness. Data from two studies on army recruits in military training shows that muscle stretching before exercise does not usefully reduce the risk of injury. The authors say, however, that the generality of this finding needs further testing.