Abstract
Purpose
Non-muscular tissue stiffness is assumed to have a negative impact on joint flexibility, and a reduction in non-muscular tissue stiffness may be important, especially in older adults. The present study aimed to compare the acute effects of static stretching on non-muscular tissue stiffness between older and young adults and to investigate whether a decrease in tissue stiffness improves joint flexibility.
Methods
Twenty older (62–83 years) and 20 young (21–24 years) males participated. Ankle dorsiflexion static stretching (five sets of 90 s each) was performed, and before and after stretching, the ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (RoM), passive ankle joint stiffness, and shear wave speed (SWS) (an index of stiffness) of the sciatic nerve, tibial nerve, and posterior thigh fascia were measured.
Results
Stretching led to an increase in RoM and a decrease in passive joint stiffness in both groups (P < 0.001) with no significant between-group differences (P ≥ 0.055). The between-group difference in the effect of stretching on SWS was evident only for the sciatic nerve, and a decline in sciatic nerve SWS was only observed in the older adult group (pre-stretching: 2.5 ± 0.3 m/s; post-stretching: 2.3 ± 0.4 m/s; P = 0.027). A significant positive repeated-measures correlation was observed between the sciatic nerve SWS and passive joint stiffness (P = 0.014, rrm = 0.540).
Conclusion
The reduction in sciatic nerve stiffness by stretching was noticeable in older men and led to improved joint flexibility. These findings may provide insight into tissue adaptation by stretching and may be used to explore effective exercises for improving joint flexibility in older adults.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request
Abbreviations
- CI:
-
Confidence interval
- DF15:
-
15° Dorsiflexion
- RoM:
-
Range of motion
- rrm :
-
Repeated-measures correlation coefficient
- SD:
-
Standard deviation
- SWS:
-
Shear wave speed
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Acknowledgements
Authors would like to thank Mr. Ryosuke Yamadera for his contribution to performing the experiment and Editage (www.editage.jp) for English language editing.
Funding
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant number JP18J00400 and JP22H03472 (to KH).
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KH and RA conceived and designed the research. KH performed the experiments. KH analyzed the data. KH and RA interpreted the data. KH drafted the manuscript. KH and RA edited and revised the manuscript. Both authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Hirata, K., Akagi, R. Acute effect of static stretching on non-muscular tissue stiffness and joint flexibility: a comparative study between older and young men. Eur J Appl Physiol 124, 793–803 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-023-05307-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-023-05307-z