Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
PLoS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences / Centre for Exercise and Sports Science Research
RAS ID
31484
Abstract
Even though the acute effects of pre-exercise static stretching and dynamic muscle activity on muscular and functional performance have been largely investigated, their effects on the corticospinal pathway are still unclear. For that reason, this study examined the acute effects of 5×20 s of static stretching, dynamic muscle activity and a control condition on spinal excitability, corticospinal excitability and plantar flexor neuromuscular properties. Fifteen volunteers were randomly tested on separate days. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied to investigate corticospinal excitability by recording the amplitude of the motorevoked potential (MEP) and the duration of the cortical silent period (cSP). Peripheral nerve stimulation was applied to investigate (i) spinal excitability using the Hoffmann reflex (Hmax), and (ii) neuromuscular properties using the amplitude of the maximal M-wave (Mmax) and corresponding peak twitch torque. These measurements were performed with a background 30% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction. Finally, the maximal voluntary isometric contraction torque and the corresponding electromyography (EMG) from soleus, gastrocnemius medialis and gastrocnemius lateralis were recorded. These parameters were measured immediately before and 10 s after each conditioning activity of plantar flexors. Corticospinal excitability (MEP/Mmax) was significantly enhanced after static stretching in soleus (P = 0.001; ES = 0.54) and gastrocnemius lateralis (P < 0.001; ES = 0.64), and after dynamic muscle activity in gastrocnemius lateralis (P = 0.003; ES = 0.53) only. On the other hand, spinal excitability (Hmax/Mmax), cSP duration, muscle activation (EMG/Mmax) as well as maximal voluntary and evoked torque remained unaltered after all pre-exercise interventions. These findings indicate the presence of facilitation of the corticospinal pathway without change in muscle function after both static stretching (particularly) and dynamic muscle activity. © 2020 Public Library of Science. All rights reserved.
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0230388
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Opplert, J., Paizis, C., Papitsa, A., Blazevich, A. J., Cometti, C., & Babault, N. (2020). Static stretch and dynamic muscle activity induce acute similar increase in corticospinal excitability. Plos one, 15(3), Article e0230388. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230388