I'M OWED A LOT OF APOLOGIES::

Pre-Run Stretching Doesn't Prevent Injuries, Study Finds (Jenifer Goodwin, 2/17/11, HealthDay News)

Runners who stretched before running were no less likely to get injured than runners who didn't bother to stretch, new research finds.

To investigate the effect of stretching on running injuries, researchers divided more than 2,000 runners into two groups. One group stretched the quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles for three to five minutes before starting their run; the other group didn't stretch. About 1,400 of the runners completed the study and were included in the final results.

"Over a period of three months, it did not make any difference if you stretched or didn't stretch before a run," said lead study author Dr. Daniel Pereles, director of sports medicine at Montgomery Orthopaedics in Kensington, Md., and an assistant clinical professor at George Washington University.