Effects of Static and Dynamic Stretching on Force Sense, Dynamic Flexibility and Reaction Time of Children

Abstract

Background: Traditionally, stretching protocols are basic components of warm-up aiming to improve performance and reduce injuries. However, the literature suggests that different stretching protocols during warm-up may have diverse effects on performance. Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effects of three different stretching protocols on force sense, dynamic flexibility, reaction time and movement time. Methods: The study included twenty-five participants who were TaeKwonDo young male players (age = 11.78 ± 1.66 years.). All the participants performed one of the following protocols on different days: (a) 5 min jogging followed by 3 min Static Stretching (SS), (b) 5 min jogging followed by 3 min Dynamic Stretching (DS), and (c) 5 min jogging followed by 3 min of rest (NS). After the protocols, the participants performed the following measurements: (a) force-matching test at 20% maximal isometric voluntary contraction (force sense), (b) active straight leg raise test (dynamic flexibility) and (c) reaction and movement time test. Results: Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed no significant main effects on force sense. Furthermore, SS performed significantly better in dynamic flexibility in comparison to NS, and DS performed significantly better in terms of dynamic flexibility and movement time compared to SS. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, it seems that force sense is not affected by either SS or DS protocols (30 sec duration per muscle group). Moreover, it seems that DS in the warm-up is more appropriate than SS for activities requiring dynamic flexibility and movement time.

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“…However, it is worth mentioning that irrespective of the duration of the stretch all DS protocols produces lower values in agility test that mean an improvement of agility performance. This finding is in congruence with previous studies that showed an improvement in agility performance (Chatzopoulos et al, 2014, McMillian et al, 2006Troumbley, 2010;Vaghela and Parmar, 2015;Van Gelder and Bartz, 2011). Authors suggest that the improvement on agility performance may be attributed a) to the post-activation potentiation phenomenon (PAP) due to increased muscle efficiency to produce force after a maximal or submaximal contraction (Chatzopoulos et al, 2007), and b) the increase in muscle temperature which reduces muscles resistance (Fletcher and Monte-Colombo, 2010) contributing to a more dynamic muscle contraction and a faster relaxation (Shellock and Prentice, 1985).…”

“…DS involving controlled movement through the active range of motion (ROM) for joint, performing movements that are specific to the activity that the individual is preparing (Behm and Chaouachi, 2011). Previous findings support that DS improve jumping performance (Manoel et al, 2008;Perrier et al, 2011), sprint time (Gelen, 2010;Fletcher and Anness, 2007;Fletcher and Jones, 2004;Galazoulas, 2017), and agility (Chatzopoulos et al, 2014;Little and Williams, 2006;McMillan et al, 2006;Van Gelder and Bartz, 2011). The aforementioned studies have examined the effect of different DS duration on athletic performance as separate conditions (in isolation) with conflicting results.…”

“…The majority of the literature has examined the effect of DS in adolescent female high school athletes (Chatzopoulos et al, 2014) or high-trained male individuals (Chaouachi et al, 2010) or compare different stretching methods e.g. SS vs DS.…”

Acute Effects of Stretching on Flexibility and Performance: A Narrative Review

“…A few studies have shown performance decreases after DS and BS [13,35,36]. Behm et al [31] reviewed 184 studies showing a decrease in squat power performance after DS stretching.…”

“…Therefore, dynamic stretching techniques have preferably been added to athletes' routines since it consists of more sport or action specific dynamic movements and leads to increases in body temperature [1,8,9], which can decrease tissue viscosity and increase neural conduction velocity [1,2,10,11]. It has also been suggested that dynamic stretching does not induce impairments or may even increase muscle power output [2,4,8,12,13]. However, coaches need to consider a variety of complex variables in order to decide what technique is more beneficial for performance, as intensity, duration, volume, athletic background, task specificity and frequency may play a major role in these stretching responses.…”