The claim
“If you stretch before or after training, you will prevent injury and recover faster.” This combines several different outcomes that should not be treated as one question.
What the recent evidence supports
A 2025 Delphi consensus statement from international exercise researchers found agreement that acute and chronic stretching can improve range of motion and reduce muscle stiffness. Those are meaningful outcomes when mobility is the goal.
The same panel did not find stretching to be an all-encompassing injury-prevention strategy, a substantive muscle-growth method, a posture fix, or a reliable way to improve post-exercise recovery. Read the consensus statement on PubMed.
What this means in practice
A warm-up can include movement that raises temperature, rehearses the task, and gradually exposes you to the range and speed you need. Static stretching can fit when it helps your range of motion, but it does not need to be a ritual performed with fear of injury.
Injury risk is multi-factorial. Training history, sudden changes in load, technique, recovery, environment, and prior injury can all matter. A single practice rarely controls the whole outcome.
Where the evidence is still limited
The consensus statement also highlights gaps in how stretching is studied, including dose, sport, training status, and injury outcomes. Advice should therefore stay specific to the activity and person rather than becoming a universal rule.