Whether you have to reassure the LLM that this is obviously untrue, I don't know, but they do have a knowledge baseline to know it's not true and I have a sneaking suspicion it would be less effective without that.
This has ended up in some of the most interesting incidental knowledge exploration I've ever done. A recent example is that I was asking about some stretches and it started talking about how useful they are for the sarcomeres, which I had not heard of. Now I have.
I'm not saying this is better, just that it is different. I think there's a time and a place for both approaches.
The wildest thing is, there's no evidence that I can find that static stretching does... anything? It increases pain tolerance through the range of motion, but not any more than just asking people to try harder etc. And it doesn't build up, so after you stretch once for a given day, you're done.
Edit: after looking into it a bit further there's actually a cochrane review that stretching does bupkis, fascinating. It's also the first "Good" evidence graded cochrane review I've seen.
I'm doing it for knee pain. It's possible it's a placebo because there is a slight strength training component to the whole thing (it's several exercises), although the knee pain has persisted through a lot of strengthening of my leg in general. This falls under "don't care" as the program as a whole works and I'm not worried enough about the details to try to optimize it. All the stretches fall under "dynamic stretching under tension" so maybe it's not something covered by the study you reference last.
You should absolutely keep stretching to help with your injury, and there is decades of “sport science” to back that up.
[1] https://www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD004577_stretching-preven... - there’s another one about joint deformities which is far more interesting, but less relevant to this discussion
Can you share the source? This seems dangerously wrong.
I see a specific review making the very narrow claim that it can have detrimental effects on power/strength activities immediately following static stretching.
But by and large I'm finding a great deal of evidence for a wide range of other benefits, particularly in range of motion and injury prevention. I can't find anything widely damning, and I certainly don't see any reviews contesting the validity of the very vast body of research supporting the many benefits of static stretching.
Presumably the Cochrane study you’re referring to is “Stretching to prevent or reduce muscle soreness after exercise”, which as it’s title suggests, investigates a narrow question and does not support you claim that “stretching does bupkis”.
Notably, longer tendons are counter-productive for energy return. The fastest runners tend to have increased tightness along the backs of their legs.
Edit: https://xkcd.com/2501/