Baseline muscle tendon unit stiffness does not affect static stretching of the ankle plantar flexor muscles

Takeuchi, Kosuke; Takemura, Masashi; Shimono, Toshihiko; Miyakawa, Shumpei

doi:10.1589/jpts.30.1377

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Recent reviews suggest that changes in sensations like stretch perception and discomfort markedly afect an individual's capacity to endure stretching, consequently impacting ROM [10,11,32]. Several studies demonstrate that acute static stretching leads to an augmented range of motion (ROM), reduced passive resistive torque (PRT) [19,[33][34][35][36], and increased maximum tolerable PRT [37][38][39].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute Effects of Stretching Exercises on Posterior Chain: Analysis of Shear Modulus by Elastography SSI

Albuquerque Brandão,

de Carvalho Teixeira,

Fernandes de Oliveira

2023

Translational Sports Medicine

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The posterior chain muscles of the lower limb include the hamstrings and triceps surae, along with the Achilles tendon. This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of static stretching exercises commonly used in clinical and training settings on the shear modulus (µ) of these muscles and tendon using Supersonic Shear-Wave Imaging (SSI) elastography. Fifteen healthy adults participated in the study, performing stretching exercises for hamstrings and triceps surae. Shear modulus and joint range of motion (ROM) were measured before and after the stretching protocols. The hip and ankle mean ROM significantly increased by 19.27% and 24.10%, respectively. However, the stretching protocol did not significantly alter in µ of the hamstrings, the gastrocnemius muscles, and the Achilles tendon. K-means clustering analysis identified a group where the subjects with lower initial ROM showed higher amplitude gains and a significant decrease in the semimembranosus stiffness after stretching. These findings suggest that the stretching protocol was effective in improving joint mobility but not sufficient to elicit immediate mechanical changes in muscle and tendon stiffness. Neural adaptations and nonmuscular structures might contribute to increased ROM. The study highlights the importance of considering individual initial ROM and subsequent responses when evaluating the effects of stretching exercises on muscle and tendon properties.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute Effects of Stretching Exercises on Posterior Chain: Analysis of Shear Modulus by Elastography SSI

Albuquerque Brandão,

de Carvalho Teixeira,

Fernandes de Oliveira

2023

Translational Sports Medicine

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show abstract

“…This indicates that there could have been differences in the right and the left feet before stretching. In a previous study of healthy young people, the baseline of muscle-tendon unit stiffness was considered not to affect static stretching 36 ) . However, in this study, it was targeted at the elderly, so the difference in baseline may have affected the results.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Machine-assisted foot stretching in the elderly: a comparison with self-stretching

et al. 2021

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Self-stretching is the traditional at-home stretching method of choice. We developed an automatic foot-stretching machine to perform effective dorsiflexion stretching safely and easily at home. The effects of automatic stretching using our machine and self-stretching were investigated and compared. [Participants and Methods] Twelve healthy elderly people participated in the study. Automatic dorsiflexion static stretching was performed with the right foot, and self-stretching using a towel was performed with the left foot. Before and after each stretching, passive range of motion in dorsiflexion, maximal voluntary contraction strength in plantarflexion, passive resistive torque during passive dorsiflexion, and displacement of the muscle-tendon junction of the medial gastrocnemius muscle were measured. [Results] The range of motion in dorsiflexion had a significantly greater increase after automatic stretching than after self-stretching. The maximum strength in plantarflexion tended to decrease after automatic stretching but did not decrease after self-stretching. The passive resistive torque in both types of stretches decreased in some of the participants but increased in others. The displacement of the muscletendon junction of the medial gastrocnemius tended to shorten during automatic stretching as compared with selfstretching. [Conclusion] Foot stretching using a machine is as effective as self-stretching and tends to affect the tendon rather than the muscle.

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Baseline muscle tendon unit stiffness does not affect static stretching of the ankle plantar flexor muscles

Cited by 2 publications

References 23 publications

Acute Effects of Stretching Exercises on Posterior Chain: Analysis of Shear Modulus by Elastography SSI

Acute Effects of Stretching Exercises on Posterior Chain: Analysis of Shear Modulus by Elastography SSI

Machine-assisted foot stretching in the elderly: a comparison with self-stretching

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