Stretch for the treatment and prevention of contractures
updated
Harvey LA, Katalinic OM, Herbert RD, Moseley AM, Lannin NA, Schurr K. Stretch for the treatment and prevention of contractures. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 Jan;1:CD007455. PubMed #28146605.
Tags: treatment, exercise, stretch, controversy, self-treatment, muscle, debunkery
PainSci summary of Harvey 2017?This page is one of thousands in the PainScience.com bibliography. It is not a general article: it is focused on a single scientific paper, and it may provide only just enough context for the summary to make sense. Links to other papers and more general information are provided at the bottom of the page, as often as possible. ★★★★☆?4-star ratings are for bigger/better studies and reviews published in more prestigious journals, with only quibbles. Ratings are a highly subjective opinion, and subject to revision at any time. If you think this paper has been incorrectly rated, please let me know.
This is a Cochrane review of static stretch for the treatment and prevention of contractures. The verdict? A clear thumbs down. Based on “high-quality evidence” they concluded that “stretch is not effective for the treatment and prevention of contractures.”
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These five articles on PainScience.com cite Harvey 2017 as a source:
- PS Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain Syndrome — A guide to the unfinished science of muscle pain, with reviews of every theory and self-treatment and therapy option
- PS Quite a Stretch: Stretching Hype Debunked — Stretching science has shown that this extremely popular form of exercise has almost no measurable benefits
- PS Why So “Negative”? — Answering accusations of negativity, and my reasons and methods for debunking bad treatment options for pain and injury.
- PS Frozen Shoulder Guide — A readable self-help manual for one the strangest of all common musculoskeletal problems, adhesive capsulitis
- PS Dupuytren’s Contracture — The tip of a mysterious pathological iceberg
