Most Effective Form of Stretching

The American College of Sports Medicine defined fitness in 1990 by stating that

physical fitness is "a set of attributes that people have or achieve." (Cited in Dalgleish

et al 2001)

This set of attributes can be further defined as cardiovascular fitness, muscular

endurance, muscle strength, muscle endurance, motor skills and flexibility.

Cardiovascular fitness involves the heart and lungs supplying the required

volume of oxygen to the working muscles.

Muscular endurance is the number of contractions or the length of time a

muscle can contract before fatigue occurs.

Muscle strength is the maximum amount of force a muscle can generate in one

contraction.

Motor skills is a general term, which covers co-ordination, speed, balance and power.

Flexibility is the range of motion (ROM) in a joint or in a series of joints.

Flexibility is improved by stretching connective tissues, muscles and other soft tissue

around a joint. Stretching exercises can be divided into different categories depending

on the way the muscles and surrounding tissues are stretched. These forms of

stretching are static stretching, dynamic stretching, ballistic stretching and

proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF). This report will define why athletes

stretch and review current literature on each form of stretching and conclude from

research which form is the most effective form of stretching.

BENEFITS OF STRETCHING

Stretching in sport was only used to warm athletes up before an event and cool

them down after the event. Stretching was not used as a part of an athletes training

programme until the benefits of stretching were recognised. Sigerseth (1971 cited in

Elliot & Mester 1999) suggested that skilled performances could be improved by

increasing the ROM around various joints. Performance can be improved due to

stretching in three ways.

If range of motion is increased especially in throwing and racquet sports, more

force or velocity can be produced. This is possible as this increases in ROM allows

the throwing distance to increase and longer period of time in which force can be

produced. This results in the speed of the racquet, bat or object being increased, which

allows a more powerful, throw, kick or hit to occur. Examples of sports where this

occurs is tennis, cricket, baseball and golf. Jobe and Moynes (1986 cited in Elliot and

Mester 1999) Studied golfers and found that the higher skilled golfers had twice the

range of trunk rotation compared to golfers of lesser skill.

Athletes who compete in sports where performance is judged on the aesthetics

of their performance will benefit from a long term stretching programme. If an athlete

has a greater ROM, compared to another athlete, they can place themselves in a

position or perform a more complex movement, which will denote a higher technical

value, which will result on a higher score being awarded.

A stretched muscle can produce a greater contractile force compared to a

muscle, which is not stretched. Rapid stretching then releasing it as it is shortened due

to the muscle briefly storing the tension develops this. As it stretches it has the

potential to quickly return to its original length. Through flexibility training the

elasticity of the muscles can be improved which will increase the contractile force

produced. Athletes who need explosive power will benefit from this.

Stretching is used during a warm up and cool down. This is done, as people

believe that poor flexibility can lead to injury. This can be muscular, joint or

connective tissue. Increasing flexibility in a warm up should decrease the risk of

injury. Stretching in a cool down is performed to reduce the delayed onset of muscular

soreness (DOMS). This can occur immediately after exercise or up to twenty four

hours after exercise. DOMS can last for a few hours to up to several days in severe

cases. This may inhibit an athlete training schedule or prevent them from performing.

As stretching is used as part of an athletes general training programme and

performed during cool downs and warm ups it is essential when evaluating what is the

most effective form of stretching to split these categories. The most effective form of

stretching may not be the same for each case. As stretching is performed for different

reasons