Research · Strength · 30 October 2026

Stretching doesn't prevent injuries. Strength training does.

Most runners stretch. Far fewer do strength training. If preventing injury is the goal, the research suggests that's the wrong way round.

The study

In 2014, researchers combined the results of 25 randomised controlled trials, the strongest type of study for this question. Together they included 26,610 people and 3,464 injuries.

They compared four types of injury-prevention exercise:

Stretching
Strength training
Proprioception (balance) training
Programmes combining several of these

What they found

Stretching showed no beneficial effect on injury risk.
Strength training reduced sports injuries to less than a third, the largest effect of any approach.
Balance training also reduced injuries, by about half.
Overuse injuries could be almost halved by exercise programmes overall. That matters for runners, as most running injuries are overuse injuries.

The authors' conclusion: favourable results for every injury prevention approach except stretching.

Does it apply to running?

This review looked at sports injuries in general, not running specifically. But a large trial of lower-limb injuries points the same way.

In 2000, researchers randomly split 1,538 army recruits into two groups for 12 weeks of physical training. One group did a 20-second static stretch for each of six major leg muscle groups before every session. The other didn't stretch.

There were 158 injuries in the stretching group and 175 in the group that didn't stretch, a difference the researchers found wasn't significant. Their conclusion: stretching before exercise doesn't produce meaningful reductions in injury risk. Interestingly, fitness was one of the factors that did predict injury.

More strength training, fewer injuries

A follow-up review in 2018 by the same research group looked only at strength training trials, with 7,738 people aged 12–40.

Strength training reduced injury risk to about a third again.
The more strength training people did, the bigger the benefit: a 10% increase in strength training volume reduced injury risk by more than four percentage points.
The programmes were safe, with high compliance.

What this means for runners

Make strength training your injury prevention. Two sessions a week is a good place to start.
Focus on the legs and hips: squats, lunges, step-ups, deadlifts and calf raises.
Progress gradually. Add weight or volume over time, as the 2018 review found more training brought more protection.
Add some balance work. Single-leg exercises cover both strength and balance.
Stretch if you like it, but don't rely on it. If stretching helps you feel loose, or you need the flexibility, there's no reason to stop. Just don't count on it to prevent injuries.

Limitations

The 2014 and 2018 reviews covered sports injuries in general, not only running injuries.
The 2000 trial was in male army recruits, whose training differs from most recreational runners'.
The 2014 review found that results varied between studies, though every approach except stretching came out favourably.

References

Lauersen JB, Bertelsen DM, Andersen LB (2014). The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 48(11), 871–877. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2013-092538
Lauersen JB, Andersen TE, Andersen LB (2018). Strength training as superior, dose-dependent and safe prevention of acute and overuse sports injuries: a systematic review, qualitative analysis and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(24), 1557–1563. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-099078
Pope RP, Herbert RD, Kirwan JD, Graham BJ (2000). A randomized trial of preexercise stretching for prevention of lower-limb injury. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 32(2), 271–277. doi:10.1097/00005768-200002000-00004

This is a summary for information only, not medical or dietary advice. Read the original study for full details.