Here we have an athlete preparing for a game.

They’ve put on their gear and done their warmup,

and now it’s time for one more routine— stretching. Typically, athletes stretch before physical
activity to avoid injuries like muscle strains and tears. But does stretching actually prevent these
issues? And if so, how long do the benefits of stretching last? 00:30
在这里，我们有一名运动员正在准备比赛。 他们已经穿好装备并完成了热身，现在是时候
进行另一项常规活动了——伸展运动。 通常，运动员在进行体育锻炼之前会进行拉伸，以
避免肌肉拉伤和撕裂等伤害。 但拉伸真的能预防这些问题吗？ 如果是这样，拉伸的好处
能持续多久？ 00:30
To answer these questions, we need to know what's actually happening in the body when we
stretch. There are two kinds of stretching our athlete might be doing. Dynamic stretches, which are
controlled movements that engage a range of muscles throughout the motion. And static stretches,
where the stretcher holds a position to keep specific muscles at a fixed length and tension. 00:51
要回答这些问题，我们需要知道拉伸时身体实际发生了什么。 我们的运动员可能会做两种
伸展运动。 动态拉伸，这是一种受控的运动，在整个运动过程中会调动一系列肌肉。 和
静态拉伸，其中担架保持一个位置以将特定肌肉保持在固定的长度和张力。 00:51

Our athlete is currently doing a static hamstring stretch— a 30 second interval where he pulls his
hamstring beyond its usual range of motion. However, while we often think of stretching a muscle
like stretching a rubber band, muscles are actually comprised of various tissue types, which
interact to make a complex material. Rubber is elastic, meaning it resists being stretched and then
returns to its original shape. But muscle is viscoelastic. This means that, in addition to those elastic
qualities, muscle changes under the stress of being stretched. 01:29
我们的运动员目前正在进行静态 腘绳肌拉伸——间隔 30 秒，他将腘绳肌拉到超出其正常
运动范围的位置。 然而，虽然我们经常认为拉伸肌肉就像拉伸橡皮筋一样，但肌肉实际上
由各种组织类型组成，它们相互作用形成了一种复杂的材料。 橡胶是有弹性的，这意味着
它可以抵抗拉伸，然后恢复到原来的形状。 但是肌肉是粘弹性的。 这意味着，除了这些
弹性特性外，肌肉在被拉伸的压力下也会发生变化。 01:29

Let’s see this in action. At the large scale, this hamstring stretch is pulling on layers of protective
tissue surrounding the muscle fibers, as well as the tendons that connect this muscle to nearby
bones. These tissues contain elastic proteins like collagen and elastin, which allow them to slightly
elongate over the duration of the stretch. At the smaller scale, these skeletal muscle fibers are
comprised of millions of sarcomeres— the smallest contracting unit of muscle tissue. Sarcomere’s
long, fibrous proteins can relax to elongate muscle fibers or they can contract to shorten them—
pulling on tendons and protective tissue to create the force propelling our athlete’s body. And
when those tissues have been stretched out, they retain their strength at longer lengths, allowing
our athlete to take full advantage of his improved range of motion. 02:26
让我们看看这个在行动中。 在大范围内，这种腿筋拉伸会拉动肌肉纤维周围的保护组织层
以及将这块肌肉连接到附近骨骼的肌腱。 这些组织含有弹性蛋白，如胶原蛋白和弹性蛋白
可以让它们在拉伸期间略微伸长。 在较小的尺度上，这些骨骼肌纤维由数百万个肌节组成
——肌肉组织的最小收缩单位。 肌节的长纤维蛋白可以放松以拉长肌肉纤维，也可以收缩
以缩短它们——拉动肌腱和保护组织以产生推动运动员身体的力量。 当这些组织被拉伸时
它们会在更长的长度上保持力量，让我们的运动员能够充分利用他改善的运动范围。02:26
Unlike a rubber band, this muscle’s resistance to stretching decreases with each 30 second stretch,
allowing our athlete to continually elongate his hamstring. And this improved flexibility likely
decreases the chance of incurring certain muscle injuries. But due to muscle’s elastic properties,
this effect will be gone in just 10 minutes without further activity. The exercise from his match
should elevate his muscle’s temperature and continue elongating the muscle, maintaining his
increased flexibility throughout the game. But once he gives his hamstrings a break, they’ll retract
back to their previous state. 03:06
与橡皮筋不同，这块肌肉的拉伸阻力每拉伸 30 秒就会降低，从而使我们的运动员能够不
断拉长腿筋。 这种改善的柔韧性可能会降低某些肌肉受伤的几率。 但由于肌肉的弹性特
性，如果不进一步活动，这种效果将在短短 10 分钟内消失。 他比赛中的锻炼应该会提高
他的肌肉温度并继续拉长肌肉，从而在整个比赛中保持他增加的柔韧性。 但是一旦他让腿
筋休息一下，它们就会恢复到之前的状态。03:06

So if all this is just temporary, how can you permanently improve your flexibility? For skeletal
muscles, improved flexibility comes from additional sarcomeres, which allow you to maintain
strength at even greater lengths. Sarcomeres are added and subtracted to muscles depending on
how frequently they’re used, so improving overall flexibility requires a comprehensive stretching
regimen. Plus, you need to stretch often— very often. Current research suggests at least 10
minutes a day for roughly two months. And since it's unsafe to hold any stretch for too long, it's
recommended that you break up your stretching within any given session. Frequent stretching also
makes lasting changes to your brain. The more you stretch a muscle, the higher your pain
threshold becomes, allowing you to stretch further and further. 03:58
所以，如果这一切只是暂时的，你怎么能永久地提高你的灵活性呢？ 对于骨骼肌，增加的
柔韧性来自于额外的肌节，这使您可以在更长的距离内保持力量。 肌节会根据使用频率在
肌肉中增减，因此提高整体柔韧性需要全面的拉伸方案。 另外，您需要经常拉伸——非常
频繁。 目前的研究表明，每天至少 10 分钟，持续大约两个月。 由于长时间保持任何拉
伸都不安全，因此建议您在任何给定的会话中中断拉伸。 频繁的伸展运动也会对您的大脑
产生持久的改变。 肌肉拉伸得越多，疼痛阈值就越高，从而可以拉伸得越来越远。03:58

Long-term improvements to your flexibility can provide a better range of motion for your joints,
potentially reducing your risk of muscle injury in the short and long-term. But it’s also possible to
stretch too much, as flexible people can move their joints in potentially dangerous ways.
Stretching also isn't helpful for every kind of movement, especially those where muscle injuries
aren't very common. For example, long distance running only involves a small range of motion for
the joints involved, so stretching is unlikely to prevent that sport’s most common injuries. When it
comes down to it, different lifestyles require different kinds of mobility. And no single stretching
regimen is flexible enough to fit every situation.
长期改善柔韧性可以为关节提供更好的运动范围，从而有可能降低短期和长期肌肉受伤的
风险。 但也有可能过度拉伸，因为灵活的人可能会以潜在危险的方式移动关节。 拉伸也
不是对每一种运动都有帮助，尤其是那些肌肉损伤不太常见的运动。 例如，长跑只涉及所
涉及关节的小范围运动，因此拉伸不太可能预防该运动最常见的伤害。归根结底，不同的
生活方式需要不同类型的机动性。 并且没有一种单一的拉伸方案能够灵活地适应所有情况。