This is Part 2 in a series on what I learned from the Sports Medicine Coach’s Clinic put on by Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters this past Saturday. You can read Part 1-Overuse, Overtraining, and Burnout here.
Today I’m going over what we learned about Dynamic Stretching and its role in injury prevention**.
Dynamic Stretching
Lauren Warnecke wrote a great article explaining the difference between Static and Dynamic Stretching here on Dance Advantage that covers much of what was discussed at the clinic. She even addresses some new research that has come out suggesting static stretching may cause a temporary (up to an hour) decrease in strength in the muscle (have you ever felt like you didn’t have power for your leaps after intense stretching?).
Kira Davies (DPT, SCS) who gave the talk about dynamic stretching at the coaches clinic pointed out some compelling reasons to use dynamic stretching to warm up: Dynamic Stretching balances muscle tension throughout the body and it prepares the joints and muscles for your activity which may decrease your risk of injury.
She recommends a dynamic warm-up for 10-20 mins, shooting for 60 seconds/dynamic stretch with 1 stretch cycle every 2 seconds, and including tri-planar motions. It should prepare of all joints and major muscle groups and include motions specific to the sport or activity.
If you go check out this post on the CHKD Sports medicine blog you can see their recommendations for stretching and you will find this link to a glossary of dynamic stretches. You may already be including dynamic stretches in your warm up! For instance, just looking at that list I know many jazz warm-ups that include hip swings, neck rolls, arm swings, mountain climber, lateral side squat and many others. I love learning why we do what we do!! Yay geeky dancers!!!
You can find videos demonstrating some of these exercises on the Duke Sports Medicine Website and Eric Cressey has a great post 6 Characteristics of a Good Dynamic Warm-up that is worth a look.
Authentic Jamestown Settler Stretch
Static Stretching
Davies recommended saving static stretches for the end of activities. She said that it has the most profound effect on a specific tissue known as collagen, the cellular framework found in muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and that it should be performed consistently to increase and maintain muscle length and flexibility.
What does this mean for the Dance Instructor?
There are many benefits to including dynamic stretching exercises into your warm-up. I know you have heard “a warm up should warm you up” and dynamic stretches are great at this. Many dance warm-ups already include dynamic warm-up exercises and we should continue to find ways to incorporate them. The other thing this made me really think about is making sure the warm-up prepares the students for the specific movements we are going to do that day. Why not do some leg swings before trying those switch leaps?
How do you incorporate Dynamic Stretching into your dance classroom? Were you aware you were using dynamic stretching techniques? Do you encourage students to save static stretching for the end of class or after the warm-up?
*I am not a doctor. In the event of an injury, seek advice from a licensed health professional.
**Much of the information covered in this post came from the PowerPoint presentation “Injury Prevention through Utilization of Dynamic Stretching/Warm-up and On-Field Strengthening” by Kira Davies, DPT, SCS
