We've all probably heard that stretching before exercising helps prevent injury. All athletes, football and basketball players, stretch before big games. It's a common misconception that stretching actually helps prevent injury.
Surprisingly, there is no data that says it improves performance or prevents injury. All it really does is warm up your muscles, but so do jumping jacks or any other kind of warm-up exercise. As it turns out, all that so-called wisdom about stretching before and after your work out to prevent injury is just a myth.