Neuromuscular and balance adaptations following acute stretching exercise: a randomized control trial

Bin Wang; Bin Wu; Yi Yang; Mengbiao Cai; Shewang Li; Hui Peng

doi:10.3389/fphys.2024.1486901

Neuromuscular and balance adaptations following acute stretching exercise: a randomized control trial

Front Physiol. 2024 Dec 3:15:1486901. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1486901. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Bin Wang^#¹, Bin Wu^#², Yi Yang³, Mengbiao Cai⁴, Shewang Li⁵, Hui Peng⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Education, Nanjing Vocational College of Information Technology, Nanjing, China.
² Department of Physical Education, Nanjing City Vocational College, Nanjing, China.
³ College of Physical Education, Hengxing University, Qingdao, China.
⁴ Department of Physical Education, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China.
⁵ Department of Basic Courses, Suzhou City University, Suzhou, China.
⁶ School of Wushu and Chinese Traditional Sports, Tianjin University of Sport, Tianjin, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the acute effects of static stretching (SS) and dynamic stretching (DS) on neuromuscular function and balance in recreationally active men.

Method: Sixty participants were randomly assigned to SS, DS, or no stretching (NS) groups. Before and after their respective stretching protocols, participants were assessed using the stork balance test (SBT), Y-balance test (YBT), T-change of direction test (CoD T-test), countermovement jump test (CMJT), squat jump test (SJT), and five-time jump test (FJT).

Results: Significant main effects of time were observed for the SBT, YBT, and CoD T-test. Significant interactions between time and group were found for the SBT, YBT, CoD T-test, and CMJT (P < 0.05). Compared to the NS group, the SS group showed significant improvement in the SBT (P < 0.05), while the DS group demonstrated significant improvements in the SBT, YBT (all directions), CoD T-test, CMJT, and SJT (P < 0.05). Post-training, the DS group showed greater improvements than the SS group in the YBT, CoD T-test, CMJT, and SJT (P < 0.05), with no significant differences in the SBT.

Conclusion: SS acutely improves static balance, while DS has a broader impact, enhancing both neuromuscular function and balance.

Keywords: adaptation; balance; exercise; neuromuscular; stretching.