Using Daily Stretching to Counteract Performance Decreases as a Result of Reduced Physical Activity—A Controlled Trial

Abstract

There are many reasons for reduced physical activity leading to reduced maximal strength and sport-specific performance, such as jumping performance. These include pandemic lockdowns, serious injury, or prolonged sitting in daily work life. Consequently, such circumstances can contribute to increased morbidity and reduced physical performance. Therefore, a demand for space-saving and home-based training routines to counteract decreases in physical performance is suggested in the literature. This study aimed to investigate the possibility of using daily static stretching using a stretching board to counteract inactivity-related decreases in performance. Thirty-five (35) participants were either allocated to an intervention group (IG), performing a daily ten-minute stretch training combined with reduced physical activity or a reduced physical activity-only group (rPA). The effects on maximal voluntary contraction, range of motion using the knee-to-wall test, countermovement jump height (CMJheight), squat jump height (SJheight), drop jump height (DJheight), contact time (DJct) and the reactive strength index (DJRSI) were evaluated using a pre-test-post-test design. The rPA group reported reduced physical activity because of lockdown. Results showed significant decreases in flexibility and jump performance (d = −0.11–−0.36, p = 0.004–0.046) within the six weeks intervention period with the rPA group. In contrast, the IG showed significant increases in MVC90 (d = 0.3, p < 0.001) and ROM (d = 0.44, p < 0.001) with significant improvements in SJheight (d = 0.14, p = 0.002), while no change was measured for CMJheight and DJ performance. Hence, 10 min of daily stretching seems to be sufficient to counteract inactivity-related performance decreases in young and healthy participants.

Effects of chronic static stretching interventions on jumping and sprinting performance–a systematic review with multilevel meta-analysis

“…Assuming every training program to be effective in untrained populations, the consistent positive direction of the effects for all included tests included by Kokkonen et al (2007) seems not surprising. Nevertheless, even though some studies showed significant strength increases ( Kokkonen et al, 2007 ; Warneke et al, 2022d ), overall, static stretching seems not to induce a sufficient stimulus to enhance jumping and sprinting performance.…”

“…Eight studies exclusively examined jumping performance ( Hunter and Marshall, 2002 ; Yuktasir and Kaya, 2009 ; Donti et al, 2021 ; Ikeda and Ryushi, 2021 ; Nakamura et al, 2021 ; Panidi et al, 2021 ; Alipasali et al, 2022 ; Warneke et al, 2022d ), two studies ( Rodriguez Fernandez et al, 2016 ; Alipasali et al, 2019 ) only sprint performance. Since four studies assessed both jumping and sprinting performance ( Kokkonen et al, 2007 ; Bazett-Jones et al, 2008 ; Hadjicharalambous, 2016 ; Barbosa et al, 2020 ), the results regarding jumping performance from 12 studies and sprinting results from six studies were examined.…”

“…The intervention period ranged between three ( Barbosa et al, 2020 ) and 12 weeks ( Panidi et al, 2021 ) in which stretching sessions were scheduled at least 3 days/week ( Kokkonen et al, 2007 ; Barbosa et al, 2020 ; Ikeda and Ryushi, 2021 ; Nakamura et al, 2021 ; Panidi et al, 2021 ) to a maximum of 7 days/week ( Warneke et al, 2022d ). In one study, stretching was also performed twice a day ( Hadjicharalambous, 2016 ).…”

“…Stretching duration per session ranged from 10 s ( Alipasali et al, 2022 ) to 10 min ( Warneke et al, 2022d ) and included a minimum of one ( Warneke et al, 2022d ) and a maximum of four ( Bazett-Jones et al, 2008 ) sets. The stretching intensity was determined via subjective pain scales and ranged from stretching without pain ( Alipasali et al, 2022 ) to stretching at the point of discomfort ( Panidi et al, 2021 ) or the limit of pain ( Ikeda and Ryushi, 2021 ).…”

Influence of Long-Lasting Static Stretching Intervention on Functional and Morphological Parameters in the Plantar Flexors: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Therefore, the investigated stretch training could be seen as an alternative method enhancing flexibility and strength capacity or reduce atrophy of the muscle. Thus, stretching can be assumed to counteract the effects of reduced physical activity, e.g., when long times of sitting at work are mandatory or because of pandemic lockdowns (44) or muscular imbalances (45). Nevertheless, because there is limited literature investigating the effects of long-lasting static stretching interventions on morphological and functional parameters, further research is required to evaluate the transferability to sport-specific performance parameters and its applicability in clinical settings since to this point, the practical application in those fields of interest remains speculative.…”