To Stretch or Not To Stretch?

  In the old-school NHL vernacular, I have both "upper body injuries" and "lower body injuries."
My left arm seems to have a nerve issue, as it tingles as if I'm giving blood everytime I lift weights or even hold a pencil. My lower body injury started out as right ankle sprain over a year ago, which stretched the tendons and ligaments and has since given me chronic pain in my achilles every time I run.
   Since I love running, I've pushed though it, and now have constant pain inside my right knee as well! I've seen my Chiropractor (a sports injury specialist) a few times about it, and he has helped, but the constant pounding on the roads, particularly on the hills in this area of New Jersey, has made the aches worse. Maybe turning 54 has something to do with it as well!
   I stretch after running, and quite frequently with my clients after training sessions. My favorite is just hanging my heels off the edge of a step, which really loosens up the achilles tightness! While I'm not sure how much it has helped, I think the injury would be worse if I hadn't done this.
    Dr. Dennis Cardone of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School recently had a piece about stretching in the "Family Medicine" column of the Star-Ledger.
     Dr. Cardone notes that there is conflicting recommendations within the athletic and medical communities about stretching: whether to do it at all, and, if so, when?
     He advises against it before exercise (something I've read many times), as stretching can decrease the force and power of the muscles, which would be a concern for someone in a weightlifting competition or road race.
   Dr. Cardone does recommend pre-exercise stretching for athletes in sports that require an increased range of motion, like swimming or gymnastics. He also feels it is a good thing to do at times you are not doing other exercise, or post-run, swim, or bike (I agree!).
   He also feels that stretching may have some psychological benefits in making an athlete more relaxed (or focused) before a competition, which may be an argument to do it. Overall, though, Dr. Cardone feels that five to 10 minutes of easy activity before a competion is more beneficial in getting the muscles loose and heart rate elevated.
    At the end of the column, published August 21st, he gives runners some general advise about avoiding injury, like gradually increasing mileage (no more than 10% a week), adding cross-training and rest days, and running on softer surfaces. His final word of advice: "Don't try to run through pain."
   To which I answer, "Then I'll never run again!"