Effect of acute static stretch on maximal muscle performance: A systematic review

Document Type

Journal Article

Faculty

Faculty of Computing, Health and Science

School

School of Exercise and Health Sciences / Centre for Exercise and Sports Science Research

RAS ID

14607

Comments

Kay, A. D., & Blazevich, A. J. (2012). Effect of acute static stretch on maximal muscle performance: A systematic review. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 44(1), 154-164. Available here

Abstract

Introduction: The benefits of preexercise muscle stretching have been recently questioned after reports of significant poststretch reductions in force and power production. However, methodological issues and equivocal findings have prevented a clear consensus being reached. As no detailed systematic review exists, the literature describing responses to acute static muscle stretch was comprehensively examined. Methods: MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, SPORTDiscus, and Zetoc were searched with recursive reference checking. Selection criteria included randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials and intervention-based trials published in peer-reviewed scientific journals examining the effect of an acute static stretch intervention on maximal muscular performance. Results: Searches revealed 4559 possible articles; 106 met the inclusion criteria. Study design was often poor because 30% of studies failed to provide appropriate reliability statistics. Clear evidence exists indicating that short-duration acute static stretch (s) has no detrimental effect (pooled estimate = -1.1%), with overwhelming evidence that stretch durations of 30–45 s also imparted no significant effect (pooled estimate = -1.9%). A sigmoidal dose–response effect was evident between stretch duration and both the likelihood and magnitude of significant decrements, with a significant reduction likely to occur with stretches >=60 s. This strong evidence for a dose–response effect was independent of performance task, contraction mode, or muscle group. Studies have only examined changes in eccentric strength when the stretch durations were >60 s, with limited evidence for an effect on eccentric strength. Conclusions: The detrimental effects of static stretch are mainly limited to longer durations (>=60 s), which may not be typically used during preexercise routines in clinical, healthy, or athletic populations. Shorter durations of stretch (s) can be performed in a preexercise routine without compromising maximal muscle performance.

DOI

10.1249/MSS.0b013e318225cb27

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