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The time course of the effects of constant‐angle and constant‐torque stretching on the muscle–tendon unit
Author(s) -
Herda T. J.,
Costa P. B.,
Walter A. A.,
Ryan E. D.,
Cramer J. T.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2012.01492.x
Subject(s) - static stretching , prom , passive stretching , range of motion , tendon , strain (injury) , anatomy , medicine , chemistry , surgery , obstetrics
The purpose of the present study was to examine the time course of passive range of motion ( PROM ), passive torque ( PAS TQ ), and musculo‐tendinous stiffness ( MTS ) responses during constant‐angle ( CA ) and constant‐torque ( CT ) stretching of the leg flexors. Eleven healthy men [mean ± standard deviation ( SD ): age = 21.5 ± 2.3 years] performed 16 30‐s bouts of CA and CT stretching of the leg flexors. PROM , PAS TQ , and MTS were measured during stretches 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16. For PROM and PAS TQ , there were no differences between CA and CT stretching treatments ( P > 0.05); however, there were stretch‐related differences ( P < 0.001). PROM increased following one 30‐s bout of stretching (collapsed across CA and CT stretching) with additional increases up to 8 min of stretching. PAS TQ decreased following one 30‐s bout of stretching (collapsed across CA and CT stretching) and continued to decrease up to 4 min of stretching. In contrast, only the CT stretching treatment resulted in changes to MTS ( P < 0.001). MTS decreased after one 30‐s bout of CT stretching, with subsequent decreases in MTS up to 6 min of stretching. These results suggested that CT stretching may be more appropriate than a stretch held at a constant muscle length for decreasing MTS .