Is more stretching always better?
The Joint & Position-Specific Flexibility Needs of Hockey Players

By Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS

When young hockey players complain that they feel tight and sore, coaches often tell them to ‘stretch more’.  While this general advice is unlikely to hurt most athletes, it certainly doesn’t give a player much direction.  Most young players have no idea which stretches to perform to alleviate their specific soreness and resort to performing the stretches they know irrespective of whether they are appropriate for their individual needs.  Before we can determine which muscles an athlete needs to stretch in order to increase performance and well-being, we must first determine:

Stability & Mobility Trade-off

The vast majority of young hockey players would benefit from developing greater stability and greater mobility in all of their joints to both increase on-ice performance and decrease the incidence of injury. Let’s briefly look at each of these joint characteristics separately.

Joint Stability:  The muscles and tissues that surround a particular joint are strong enough to allow the athlete to maintain their desired joint position while under load. For example, a player’s knee joint is stable enough to allow a player to maintain a low balanced skating position while fighting off a checker.

Joint Mobility:  The muscles and tissues that surround a particular joint are flexible enough to allow the athlete to move freely and easily through the range of motion required to facilitate athletic performance without predisposing the player to injury. For example, a goalie’s hip joint is mobile enough to allow them to perform the ‘splits’ easily without causing damage to the groin muscles. 

Joint stability and mobility can and should be developed simultaneously by every hockey player.  However, a player’s individual stability and mobility needs will differ based on which joints are involved and which position they play. There is always a stabilty-mobility trade-off specific to each joint in the body and each position played on a team.

Prior to determining which stretches best address the needs of players, we must first look at the ‘stability-mobility’ trade-off specific to each joint in the body and each position on a team.

Joint-specific Needs of Hockey Players

Some joints require a greater degree of stability to maximize function while others require more mobility.  For example, the elbow joint is inherently less mobile than the shoulder as the elbow joint can only flex and extend in one plane while the shoulder can move in almost any direction. This usually results in the elbow joint being much more stable than the shoulder joint.  Although most athletes suffer from a lack of shoulder stability, hockey players are at increased risk due to the nature of their sport. 

Due to the rounded forward skating posture, most hockey players have weak and unstable shoulder girdles which can predispose them to injury from both impact and overuse. However, a player wouldn’t want to over-develop their shoulder stability in such a way that compromises their ability to move their shoulders through a wide range of motion. In order to handle, pass and shoot the puck effectively, players must be able to get their arms out and away from their body. This position allows players to move their arms through an extensive range of motion. If the hockey player attempted to hold perfect posture, with the shoulder blades pulled down and towards each other, while handling the puck in any way, their range of motion and effectiveness would diminish greatly.  While hockey players require slightly more mobility through the shoulder joint in order to play their sport, they must always be aware of the potential instability of the joint that results from this trade-off and must therefore address the stability needs of the shoulder in off-ice training sessions both in and out of season.

Position-specific Needs of Hockey Players

In the same way that each joint in the body requires a different degree of stability and mobility, each position on the ice demands a similar stability and mobility trade-off.  For example, a goalie will require a greater degree of mobility overall than a forward or defenseman. In general, goalies must possess extremely precise body control over a very large range of motion in the knee, hip and shoulder joints.  Overall joint stability and mobility are equally critical for goalies as they must be able to reach an extended range of motion and control their bodies at that end range of motion without overextending themselves.  On the other hand, forwards and defensemen would require a greater amount of shoulder stability than the goalie as they are going to be subject to much greater stress on that joint from shooting and checking.  That being said, the shoulder mobility needs of the skaters are still important for stick-handling and passing and therefore, exercises that develop shoulder stability cannot be neglected by any hockey players.

Once we have determined the specific stability and mobility needs of a young hockey player, we can address the flexibility and strength needs of the muscles, ligaments and tendons that support the joints of their body that are most critical for them to excel at their position.  If we can address stability and mobility needs effectively, the player will be rewarded with increased performance and decreased injury.

© Total Female Hockey 2008

Kim McCullough, YCS, MSc, is a Athletic Development Specialist and founder of Total Female Hockey. In addition to training and coaching girls at all levels of hockey, from novice to the National team, Kim has also played at the highest level of women’s hockey in the world for the last decade. Kim’s female player development website features a state-of-the-art Complete Off-Season Training Program and her blog gives the coaches and parents of aspiring young players access to the most up-to-date tips and advice on how to help their players take their game to the next level. To learn more about female-specific player development, get your Free Report: The #1 Mistake Female Players Make in the Off-Season at http://www.totalfemalehockey.com