Abstract
Purpose
Static stretching (SS) is performed in various settings, but there is no consensus about the effects of SS programmes on changes in muscle morphofunction. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a high-volume SS programme on muscle strength and architecture.
Methods
Sixteen healthy young male adults participated, and the dominant leg was defined as the intervention side, with the non-dominant leg as the control side. Stretching exercises were performed two times per week (6 sets of 5 min, totally 30 min per session,) for 5-week using a stretching board under the supervision of the research team. Before and after SS intervention programme, plantar-flexor strength (maximum voluntary isometric contraction, MVC-ISO; maximum voluntary concentric contraction, MVC-CON) and architecture (muscle thickness, pennation angle, and fascicle length) were measured via dynamometer and ultrasound, respectively.
Results
Following the SS-training programme, significant increases were observed for stretching side in MVIC-ISO at neutral ankle position (p = 0.02, d = 0.31, Δ = 6.4 ± 9.9%) and MVC-CON at 120°/s (p = 0.02, d = 0.30, Δ = 7.8 ± 9.1%), with no significant change on the control side. There was no significant change in any measure of muscle architecture for both intervention and control sides.
Conclusion
Five-week high-volume SS induced positive changes on some measures of muscle strength but not hypertrophy of plantar-flexor muscles. Even with a volume much greater than already tested, the low strain offered by the SS per set seems be insufficient to induce architectural changes on skeletal muscle.
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Data availability
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.
Abbreviations
- CV:
-
Coefficient variation
- ES:
-
Effect size
- ICC:
-
Intraclass correlation coefficient
- MVC-CON:
-
Maximal voluntary concentric contraction
- MVC-ISO:
-
Maximal voluntary isometric contraction
- POST:
-
After static stretching programme session
- PRE:
-
Baseline measurement
- RFD:
-
Rate of force development
- ROM:
-
Range of motion
- SD:
-
Standard deviations
- SS:
-
Static stretching
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Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge all participants involved in this study.
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This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant number 19K19890 (Masatoshi Nakamura).
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KY contributed to study design and data collection, and drafted the manuscript; SS, RK, and YR contributed to data collection and made critical revisions to the manuscript; AK, TF, and JPN contributed to study design and data analysis, and make critical revisions to the manuscript; NM contributed to study design and data collection, and critical revision to the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
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Yahata, K., Konrad, A., Sato, S. et al. Effects of a high-volume static stretching programme on plantar-flexor muscle strength and architecture. Eur J Appl Physiol 121, 1159–1166 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-021-04608-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-021-04608-5