Original ResearchThe effects of a combined static-dynamic stretching protocol on athletic performance in elite Gaelic footballers: A randomised controlled crossover trial
Introduction
Gaelic Football is Ireland's national sport (McIntyre, 2005, Strudwick et al., 2002). The sport places a high demand on the aerobic system and other components of fitness including strength, agility, sprint endurance, flexibility and speed (McIntyre, 2005). Gaelic footballers carry out a large number of accelerations, decelerations, jumps and changes of direction in a 60–70 min game (O'Donoghue & King 2004). Muscle-tendon unit injuries account for 51.8% of all injuries in elite level Gaelic football (Murphy, O’Malley, Gissane, & Blake, 2012).
Athletes carry out pre-participation warm ups to prepare for the demands of the sport (Bishop & Middleton, 2013) and a well-designed warm-up can bring about physiological changes to optimise performance (Swanson, 2006). Traditionally warm-ups have consisted of a sub-maximal aerobic component followed by static stretching (Bishop, 2003) and a segment of skill rehearsal in which the athletes perform dynamic movements similar to those of the sport or event (Young, 2007). The aim of the sub-maximal aerobic component was to raise the body temperature. This increase in temperature has been found to increase nerve conduction velocity and increase muscle-tendon unit compliance (Bishop, 2003).
Static stretching has been shown to be an effective way of improving ROM (Bandy et al., 1997, Paradisis et al., 2014, Power et al., 2004, McHugh and Cosgrave, 2010). Static stretching has been traditionally part of sports warm-ups to help prevent injury (Ekstrand et al., 1983, Hadala and Barrios, 2009, Smith, 1994), reduce subsequent muscle soreness (High, Howley, & Franks, 1989) and improve performance (Beaulieu, 1981, Shellock and Prentice, 1985, Stamford, 1984, Young, 2007, Young and Behm, 2003).
A review by McHugh and Cosgrave (2010) concluded that there was evidence that pre-participation stretching reduces the incidence of muscle strains. More recently a comprehensive review by Behm, Blazevich, Kay, and McHugh (2016), supported this point and concluded that static stretching shows no overall effect on all-cause injury or overuse injuries, but there may be a benefit in reducing acute muscle injuries in movements with repetitive contractions such as running and sprinting.
Various studies have found that static stretching may impair performance (Behm and Kibele, 2007, Behm et al., 2006, Nelson et al., 2001). A review by Shrier (2004) investigating the effect of stretching on performance found that 23 out of 24 studies reviewed reported that acute stretching reduced performances of force, torque production and jumping. Subsequent reviews by McHugh and Cosgrave, 2010, Behm and Chaouachi, 2011, Kay and Blazevich, 2012, Simic et al., 2012 have also concluded that static stretching may have a negative effect on many aspects of sports performance. The European College of Sport Sciences published a position statement (Magnusson & Renstrom, 2006), which concluded that there was firm evidence that an acute bout of stretching could diminish performance in tests requiring maximal muscle efforts.
Many theories have been hypothesized why acute muscle stretching may negatively affect performance, such as reducing tendon stiffness, forcing the muscle to work at shorter and weaker lengths (Fowles et al., 2000, Nelson et al., 2001, Weir et al., 2005; Cramer, Housh, Weir & Johnson, 2005). However Behm et al. (2016) suggested changes in muscle length are unlikely to be an important mechanism influencing the force reduction after static stretching.
Changes in tendon stiffness has also been reported to influence electromechanical delay (Cresswell et al., 1995, Waugh et al., 2013, Waugh et al., 2014) and therefore reduce the rate of force production. Reductions in tendon stiffness are also thought to affect the rate of force development (Bojsen-Møller et al., 2005, Waugh et al., 2013). Brooks, Zerba, and Faulkner (1995) proposed mechanical stretch imposed on the muscle–tendon unit could cause damage within the muscle itself, thus reducing contractile force capacity. No studies have been able to demonstrate muscle damage following static stretching (Behm et al., 2016). The review by Behm et al. (2016) theorized that a reduction in central (efferent) drive following static stretching may also affect force production and that emotional arousal may positively stimulate the central nervous system and reduce the potential negative effect of static stretching on performance.
Many studies have also reported no reduction in strength, power, or explosive muscular performance following static stretching (Bazett-Jones et al., 2005, Burkett et al., 2005, Cramer et al., 2005, Unick et al., 2005). Some studies have even reported improvement in athletic performance following static stretching (O'Connor et al., 2006, Gonzalez-Rave et al., 2009, Haag et al., 2010).
A Cochrane review of 12 studies by Herbert, de Noronha, and Kamper (2011) found that the performance of static stretching before or after exercise did not lead to reduction in delayed-onset muscle soreness in healthy adults. Due to several studies (Behm and Kibele, 2007, Behm et al., 2006, Nelson et al., 2001) and a review (Shrier, 2004) reporting the negative effects of static stretching on sports performance the American College of Sports Medicine's guidelines (ACSM 2010) suggested static stretching be removed as part of a warm-up routine and to only include cardiovascular work when strength or power was important to performance.
Despite the lack of definitive evidence on the effect of static stretching on injury prevention, its lack of effectiveness in the prevention of muscle soreness and its detrimental effect on performance, static stretching continues to be a component to many warm-ups (Behm et al., 2016).
In more recent years there has been a shift away from static stretching and dynamic stretching has become a popular component to sporting warm ups (Behm et al., 2016). Dynamic stretching has been demonstrated in various studies to reduce injury (Arnason et al., 2008, Manoel et al., 2008, Soligard et al., 2008) and improve subsequent athletic performance (Holt and Lambourne, 2008, Nelson and Kokkonen, 2001, Yamaguchi et al., 2008). Hough, Ross, and Howatson (2009) and Torres et al. (2008) have suggested the performance enhancement may be to post-activation potentiation in the stretched muscle caused by voluntary contractions of the antagonist muscle. Post-activation potentiation is the phenomenon by which the contractile history of muscles directly affects their subsequent rate of force development (RFD) or the ability to generate force in a rapid manner (Hodgson, Docherty, & Robbins, 2005).
Dynamic stretching can elevate core temperature (Fletcher & Jones, 2004). Elevated core temperature could then increase nerve conduction velocity, muscle-tendon unit compliance and enzymatic cycling, accelerating energy production (Bishop, 2003). Dynamic stretching has also been suggested by some authors to increase central drive (Guissard & Duchateau, 2006). Murphy, Di Santo, Alkanani, and Behm (2010) demonstrated the ROM gains achieved with static stretching are maintained when dynamic activities are performed after the static stretching. Samson, Button, Chaouachi, and Behm (2012) found static stretching following a submaximal warm up to increase ROM more than dynamic stretching following a submaximal warm up.
The quality of evidence investigating the effect of stretching on athletic performance varies greatly. Most studies use a randomised crossover design. However some studies fail to employ tester-blinding (Sayers et al., 2008, Winchester et al., 2008, Beckett et al., 2009, Gelen, 2010). Young (2007) concluded that there were contradictory results regarding the effects of acute stretch, which could have resulted from major issues in research design. Issues identified by Young (2007) included a lack of control or reliability analysis and the long, practically irrelevant durations of the imposed stretches, which did not typically reflect stretching durations carried out in pre-participation warm-ups. The total duration of muscle stretching in most studies in this area was much longer than the ranges normally used in practice i.e., 15–30 s per muscle group (Rubini et al., 2007, Young, 2007).
One criticism of the design method employed by studies investigating combined stretching and performance is the sequencing of the stretching protocols. Some studies instructed their participants to perform dynamic stretching then static stretching (Fletcher and Anness, 2007, Gelen, 2010). In sport, stretching techniques can typically be done in the reverse order, static stretching then dynamic stretching followed by sports specific drills (Behm and Chaouachi, 2011, Behm et al., 2016, Young, 2007).
Several studies have demonstrated when dynamic stretching was performed prior to static stretching there was no negative effect on subsequent performance (Beckett et al., 2009, Fletcher and Anness, 2007, Wallman et al., 2008, Winchester et al., 2008). A thorough search of the literature failed to uncover any studies, of high quality investigating the effect of performing dynamic stretching after static stretching, as occurs in performance sport.
From the literature it is clear that static stretching has a detrimental effect on sprint and jump performance. High quality studies have demonstrated the performance enhancing effect of performing dynamic stretching before sprinting and jumping. Despite this evidence, many coaches and athletes continue to employ static stretching as part of modern field sport warm ups (Behm et al., 2016).
Simic et al. (2012) recommended that the usage of static stretching as the sole activity during warm-up routine should be avoided and that due to the potential positive effect of pre-exercise static stretching on the reduction of incidence of muscle strains, further studies should examine the acute effects of static stretching of shorter duration. (15–30 s). Simic et al. (2012) stated that static stretching of shorter duration should be incorporated into a comprehensive pre-exercise warm-up routine prior to maximal muscular performance.
The review by Behm et al. (2016) identified a lack of studies on stretch-induced performance changes that actually replicate modern sport pre-event preparation. Typical warm up practices carried out by coaches and athletes, combine submaximal warm ups, static and dynamic stretching with sport specific practice (Behm et al., 2016). The sequencing of these warm-up practices and their subsequent effect on performance must be investigated to inform sports practice.
Section snippets
Aims
To the author's knowledge, this study is the first controlled trial, investigating the effect of implementing dynamic exercise post static stretching on sprint and jump performance. Although the detrimental effect of static stretching on power performance measures and the positive effect of dynamic exercise on power output is well described in the extensive reviews (Behm and Chaouachi, 2011, Behm et al., 2016, Peck et al., 2014, Shrier, 2004, Simic et al., 2012) this is the first study to
Methods
This was a randomised controlled crossover trial comparing three stretching protocols. Testing took place on nine occasions over a period of 16 days. Participants rested the day before testing and maintained consistent nutrition and hydration plans 48 h prior to testing. Testing took place at the same time on the same day over a three-week period. A physiotherapist, who was blinded to the performance measures and the aim of the study, oversaw all warm up exercises and stretches.
Results
In total 30 GAA players volunteered for the study. Six volunteers were excluded; two were excluded because they were suffering from a musculoskeletal injury, which may have been aggravated by participating in the study. Four other volunteers were excluded, as their playing history did not deem them to be of an elite level as described in the inclusion criteria.
Seven players were lost to the study due to illness or injury sustained while competing with their respective club sides.
Seventeen
Discussion
In this current study the static stretching protocol appeared to a have significant detrimental effect on the power output in each of the performance measures. The implementation of a dynamic warm up post-static stretching appears to have a significant benefit on performance in each of the performance measures (Table 2).
In the speed tests, sprint performance was reduced by 0.02 s (1.1%) over 10 m, 0.04 s (1.0%) over 20 m and 0.06 s (1.1%) over 40 m post static stretching. (Fig. 2). These
Conclusion
To prevent any potential performance detriment, static stretching should not be carried out directly prior to any strength, high speed, explosive or reactive activities. Static stretching may be carried out at the beginning of the warm up before the dynamic and/or sports specific practice drills. Athletes can however, include static stretching in their overall fitness program or at the beginning of a pre-event warm up for the general health, muscle strain injury prevention and functional
Ethical approval
This study was granted ethics approval by the Ulster University Ethics and Filter Committee, School of Health Sciences.
Conflict of interest
None declared.
Funding
None declared.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank The Sports Institute of Northern Ireland for use of their staff, equipment and facilities in the data collection process and also The Ulster University GAA academy for assisting with participant recruitment and data collection. A special thanks in particular is expressed to Dr Richard McCann and Michael Johnson for their time and expertise with the data collection.
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