High-impact Routines to Ameliorate Trunk and Lower Limbs Flexibility in Women

Abstract

Several types of routines and methods have been experimented to gain neuro/muscular advantages, in terms of overall range of motion, in athletes and fitness enthusiasts. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of different routines on trunk- and lower limbs flexibility in a sample of young women. In a randomized-crossover fashion, eleven subjects underwent to: hamstrings stretching [S]; hamstrings stretching plus whole-body vibration [S+WBV]; partial-body cryotherapy [Cryo]; rest [Control]. Standing hamstrings stretch performance and sit-and-reach amplitude resulted to be improved with [S+WBV] compared to all other protocols (p<0.05). [Cryo] ameliorated the active knee extension performance with respect to all other interventions (p<0.05). These flexibility improvements were obtained without a loss in the trunk position sense proprioception. These results represent the first evidence that a single session of either vibration or cryotherapy can ameliorate flexibility without losing the trunk position sense proprioception in young women.

Pre-Exercise Whole- or Partial-Body Cryotherapy Exposure to Improve Physical Performance: A Systematic Review

“…The twelve identified studies were categorised into 3 key research areas: physical performance (n = 6) [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ], oxidative stress response (n = 4) [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ] and lysosomal enzyme activity (n = 2) [ 37 , 38 ]. Within these categories, three studies used WBC exposure acutely prior to testing or physiological measures being taken [ 27 , 29 ], and five utilised WBC chronically (2–3 exposures per day over a 6–10 training period) [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 38 ].…”

“…Four WBC studies used an exposure of 3 min at −120 °C to −140 °C [ 33 , 35 , 37 , 38 ], with the remaining four studies using all different exposures including 3 min at −125 to −150 °C [ 34 ], 2.5 min at −130 to 140 °C [ 27 ], 20-sec acclimation at −60 °C then 3 min at −110 °C, and finally a protocol of 10–20 sec acclimation at −10 °C then 2 min at −130 °C [ 36 ]. The three studies using the PBC intervention featured varying protocols of time and temperature exposure including 2.5 min at −130 °C to −170 °C [ 31 ], 2.5 min at −130 °C to −160 °C [ 28 ], 3 min at −110 °C [ 30 ] and 3 min at −140 °C [ 32 ]. Only five studies described the control group intervention, where the participants spent an equal time to the WBC exposure in a thermoneutral environment.…”

“…Acute WBC exposure prior to a sit-and-reach test in healthy, middle-aged participants elicited a significant increase in reach amplitude in men by ~2.3 ± 1.4 cm compared with the control condition, and an improvement by ~2.4 cm ± 1.6 in women [ 27 ]. Similarly, PBC exposure improved the sit-and-reach score by +1.8 ± 0.9 cm more compared to the control condition and increased ROM during active knee extensions by +11 ± 3.9% change compared with a decrease of −0.7 ± 0.5% change in the control group [ 31 ]. Isometric grip strength was evaluated pre and post-acute PBC exposure in healthy men and women.…”

“…In this review, the five of the six studies investigating physical performance used healthy, recreationally active participants and not an athletic population. PBC has induced increases in sit-and-reach performance by up to 3 cm in both healthy men and women [ 31 ]. There was a similarly favourable neuromuscular facilitation response using sit-and-reach amplitude after WBC exposure [ 27 ], that could translate into other physical performances or fitness monitoring tests.…”

The Effect of Static and Dynamic Stretching during Warm-Up on Running Economy and Perception of Effort in Recreational Endurance Runners

“…Also, repeated contraction and relaxation of the muscles during warm-up have been proved to enhance body and muscle temperature, increasing both the nerve conduction velocity and muscle compliance [1,8]. Recently, a cryostimulation protocol has also shown its effectiveness in improving trunk and lower limb flexibility [52], suggesting a link between the benefits on muscle flexibility and decreases in perception of effort [47].…”