It’s a contentious and much-debated topic, and now a new study has come out on the side of those who say that stretching serves little or no purpose for exercisers. Australian researchers have reviewed the findings from ten separate studies, each involving between ten and 30 participants, and concluded that pre and post-exercise stretching will not prevent sore muscles.

Of the ten studies, nine had been carried out in laboratory conditions, with the time spent stretching in each case varying from 40 seconds to ten minutes. Using a 100-point scale to assess the level of soreness, the researchers noted no more than a one point reduction in soreness in participants who had partaken in stretching prior to, or after, exercise.

Lead researcher Robert Herbert, of the School of Physiotherapy at the University of Sydney, said, ‘The data were remarkably consistent. The available evidence suggests that stretching before or after exercise does not prevent muscle soreness in young healthy adults’.