Baseline muscle tendon unit stiffness does not affect static stretching of the ankle plantar flexor muscles.
Kosuke Takeuchi, Masahiro Takemura, Toshihiko Shimono and 1 others
PMID 30464369WHAT IT FOUND
Ten minutes of static stretching improved ankle flexibility and reduced stiffness in all participants.
Baseline stiffness did not change how much stretching helped. People with stiffer ankles started with less range of motion, but the stretching effect was the same.
Key findings
01Ten minutes of static stretching increased ankle range of motion and passive torque, and decreased muscle tendon unit stiffness in both groups.
02Baseline muscle tendon unit stiffness had no influence on the effects of static stretching on muscle and tendon elongation.
03Participants with high baseline stiffness had significantly lower range of motion and higher muscle tendon unit stiffness than those with low baseline stiffness.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only eighteen healthy young men who did not exercise regularly. It is unknown if these results apply to people with pathological flexibility changes, such as those with spasticity or after injury. The sample size is small, so findings may not generalize to wider patient populations.
Declared interests
The study was supported by a JSPS KAKENHI grant. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that patients with stiffer ankles will get less benefit from static stretching. The study found that baseline stiffness did not affect the outcome, so stretching improved flexibility equally in both groups.