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All Archived Updates for:

Quite a Stretch

This page lists all 33 updates for one article on PainScience.com, Quite a Stretch For a more general summary of everything new around PainScience — recent updates for all articles, new articles, blog posts, and new study summaries, see What’s New on PainScience.com?

  1. May 3, 2021 — New section, stretching for cramps —
  2. May 3, 2021 — Rebooted — Over the last couple weeks, this article has been upgraded and expanded in many ways. It is now about 33,000 words long, which gives it the dubious distinction of being the first PainSci article to match the length of the shortest PainSci book. Henceforth, I will call this page a “book.”
  3. May 2, 2021 — New section, ballistic stretching —
  4. May 1, 2021 — Rewritten — Much more and clearer information about other types of stretching, with new references, plus a rewritten explanation of allegedly “advanced” stretching.
  5. Apr 30, 2021 — Science update — Added citations about neck pain, fibromyalgia, headache, runner’s knee.
  6. Apr 30, 2021 — Science update — Added two citations to systematic reviews of research on proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation.
  7. Apr 27, 2021 — Completely rewritten — A total reboot of my coverage of the topic of sensory tolerance for stretch.
  8. Apr 27, 2021 — New section — A tour of all the major ways that flexibility supposedly works.
  9. Apr 27, 2021 — Major revision — The introduction to flexibility has not been completely re-written, but close: thoroughly revised and tuned to reflect many changes in this part of the article.
  10. Apr 27, 2021 — Major updates — Extensive improvements: more sub-topics, more references, more detail. Also added a good anecdote about stretching too much.
  11. Apr 25, 2021 — New section, nerve stretching —
  12. Apr 20, 2021 — Science update — Added a bunch more detail and references about the negative effects of stretch on performance.
  13. Mar 18, 2021 — New section, Stretching for back pain —
  14. Feb 16, 2021 — Re-expansion — In mid-2020 the article was split up into four separate articles as an experiment. That experiment failed; I decided that it’s better as one mighty article, and restored it to its original state. Technically there’s no new content, but this page is nevertheless “like new” — it has never been this comprehensive before.
  15. Aug 7, 2020 — Major update — Extensive revisions and reorganization, with too many changes to itemize. The stretching for pain and flexibility sections were both substantially revised and expanded. The athletic stretching sections — the original core of the article — were fine-tuned, and unified with the particularly important idea that stretching is not a “pillar of fitness.”
  16. Apr 29, 2020 — More content — Added some examples of stretching being rejected by elite athletes.
  17. Feb 22, 2020 — More information — Added detail about the practical importance of flexibility. Or lack thereof. Weirdly, this update was harvested from a decade-old Facebook comment.
  18. Jan 29, 2020 — Science update — Added an important example, stretching the hamstrings for back pain, with a few relevant references.
  19. Jan 15, 2020 — New section, stretching for injury rehab —
  20. Sep 6, 2019 — New section, stretching dosage — Some new content, and some old content transplanted from other sections. There’s certainly more to do on dosage, but I think it’s a solid summary so far.
  21. Jun 22, 2019 — New section, on stretching, inflammation, and aging —
  22. Mar 17, 2019 — Science update — Added five citations showing that stretching can increase flexibility.
  23. Jan 24, 2019 — Reorganized — I’ve shuffled and renamed many sections, plus a bunch of editing, to reflect new priorities for the article going forward: a more comprehensive review of all stretching sub-topics, but especially stretching as a component of injury rehab and treatment for chronic pain. Several significant changes are planned for 2019.
  24. Sep 28, 2018 — Minor addition, flexibility section — Added an anecdote from the world of elite distance running, about Eliud Kipchoge’s inability to touch his toes.
  25. Feb 10, 2018 — Minor addition — “Endorphins” now have a sidebar.
  26. Feb 10, 2018 — Expanded — Added more the nature of soreness and stiffness, and the relevance of stretching (or lack thereof).
  27. Dec 10, 2017 — Science update — Cited Blazevich et al on tolerance of calf stretching.
  28. Nov 23, 2017 — New section — Discussion of four ways that stretching may cause harm, especially for medically vulnerable people.
  29. Oct 2, 2017 — Science update — Added preliminary discussion of evidence on the prevention of muscle strains. (More to come on this topic.)
  30. Jul 15, 2017 — Science update, muscle pain section — Cited and discussed implications of anti-inflammatory effect reported by Berrueta et al.
  31. Jul 15, 2017 — Revised, preventing soreness section — A heavy edit for clarity and brevity.
  32. Nov 18, 2016 — Rewritten — Complex and thorough modernization and other improvements.
  33. Jun 1, 2015 — Upgrade — Added table of contents.