Stretching: What Research Shows About Flexibility, Soreness and Injury

Four different questions

People stretch for several reasons, and the research answers each one differently.

1. Does it increase range of motion?

   Established, short-lived after one session

   Yes, in healthy adults, mostly measured in studies of young people. [1][2]

2. Does it reduce soreness after exercise?

   No good evidence of benefit

   Not by an amount that matters in everyday terms. [3][4]

3. Does it prevent injuries?

   No good evidence of benefit

   Not on its own. [5][6]

4. Does it change performance?

   Mixed

   Small drops right after long static holds; little effect if followed by active movement. [6]

Flexibility and range of motion

A 2024 meta-analysis of 77 studies found stretch training increased joint range of motion by a moderate amount compared with controls. [1] A 2025 analysis of 189 studies (6,654 adults, average age about 27, 61% male) found a moderate effect of one session and a large effect of repeated sessions on flexibility. [2]

Several findings qualify this:

• After a single session, range-of-motion gains typically last under 30 minutes. [6]
• Larger gains were seen in people who started with poor flexibility. [2]
• A mechanism review found stretching lowered measured stiffness and raised stretch tolerance, but did not change fascicle length (the length of muscle fiber bundles). [7] In plain terms, you may be able to tolerate a bigger stretch without the muscle becoming "longer."
• Strength training with external loads improved range of motion about as much as stretching in a 55-study meta-analysis. [8]
• The 2025 analysis found gains leveled off at about 4 minutes per session or 10 minutes per week of cumulative stretching. Another meta-analysis found no significant effect of volume, intensity or frequency. [2][1] These are study findings in mostly young adults, not a personal recommendation.

Static, dynamic and ballistic stretching

Static stretching holds a position. Dynamic stretching moves through the range of motion without holding an end position, while ballistic stretching uses faster, bouncing movements. [9] A 2024 meta-analysis found proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF, a named stretching technique) and static stretching produced larger long-term range-of-motion gains than ballistic or dynamic stretching. [1] A 2025 meta-analysis found dynamic and ballistic stretching gave small, immediate flexibility gains. [9]

Soreness after exercise

A Cochrane review of 12 studies found stretching before or after exercise did not produce clinically important reductions in delayed-onset muscle soreness in healthy adults. [3] A 2021 review of 11 trials (229 participants) found no effect of post-exercise stretching on soreness or strength recovery compared with rest, with very low confidence in the evidence and high risk of bias in about 70% of studies. [4]

The NHS cool-down advice says gentle stretching can help you relax and improve flexibility. [10] That is a different claim from preventing soreness, and the reviews above did not test relaxation.

Injury prevention

A 2014 meta-analysis of 25 trials (26,610 participants) found no beneficial effect of stretching alone on sports injuries (risk ratio 0.96, with a confidence interval spanning no effect). Strength training programs and multi-part programs did lower injury rates. [5] A 2016 review similarly found static and PNF stretching had no clear effect on all-cause or overuse injuries. [6] For hamstring injuries in athletes, a 2023 review found eccentric training (strengthening while the muscle lengthens) cut injury incidence, while stretching was used to improve flexibility. [11]

These trials mostly involved sports teams. They do not tell us about stretching and injury risk in older adults or people with joint conditions.

Warm-up and foam rolling

A 2024 meta-analysis of 38 studies found stretching and foam rolling gave no larger immediate range-of-motion gains than other warm-up activities. [12] Another found long-term static stretching and foam rolling raised range of motion by similar amounts. [13] The NHS suggests a warm-up before exercise to help prevent injury. [14] Whether a warm-up by itself prevents injury was not tested in the reviews we read for this page.