Abstract
Background
It is important to devise a method to promote prolonged effect of static stretching (SS) exercise in sports settings. There is also a need to clarify the usefulness of additional short-term SS exercise and examine the results under conditions close to sports settings.
Objective
This study aimed to clarify whether or not the prolonged effect of a 30-s static stretching exercise could be maintained for a longer period by performing an additional short-term (15-s) SS exercise following a 15-min rest.
Methods
The participants were 15 healthy recreationally active adult males (22.5 ± 1.1 years) who underwent three conditions: 1) SS condition (30-s SS exercise only); 2) SS + 15-s condition (30-s SS and 15-s SS exercise during the rest period); and 3) noSS + 15-s condition (15-s SS exercise only). The knee flexion range of motion (ROM), pain pressure threshold (PPT), and tissue hardness were measured before (PRE), immediately after (POST), and 15 min after the first SS exercise.
Results
There were significant interaction effects in all variables, and post-hoc tests showed that knee flexion ROM and PPT increased significantly, and tissue hardness decreased significantly immediately afterwards in the SS and SS + 15-s conditions. In addition, in the SS + 15-s and noSS + 15-s conditions, the 15-min values were significantly higher than the PRE values (Cohen's d = 0.64 and 0.18, respectively). Moreover, in the SS + 15-s condition, the 15-min value was significantly higher than the PRE value (d = 0.40). Tissue hardness showed a significant decrease immediately afterwards in both the SS and SS + 15-s conditions (d = −0.47 and −0.37). In addition, in the SS + 15-s and noSS + 15-s conditions, the 15-min value was significantly lower than the PRE value.
Conclusion
These results suggest that a 30-s SS exercise followed by an additional short-term SS exercise after a 15-min rest can prolong the changes in muscle passive properties.
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