title: Acute partial passive stretching increases range of motion and muscle strength.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of partial passive stretching (PPS) on peak torque (PT) and joint range of motion (ROM) in healthy subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two males (mean age 20.4±1.0 yrs, height 181.1±4.2 cm and weight 75.8±6.8 kg) participated in the study. Quadriceps and hamstrings PT at different angular velocities was obtained on an isokinetic dynamometer. Standing leg method hop was tested for the stretched and unstretched leg. Each subject performed PPS for 20 seconds. The stretching procedure was repeated 5 times for each muscle group. The whole stretching program lasted for 6 minutes and 20 seconds followed by 5 seconds resting period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Directly after the stretching procedure significant increases were observed of PT in quadriceps and hamstrings, however, only at 300o.s⁻¹ (P<0.05). Joint ROM was increased in all subjects (P<0.05). The distance in single length hop was increased significantly in the stretched leg following stretching (P<0.05). No changes were observed in the unstretched leg.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicated that the PPS altered ROM, maximal concentric isokinetic strength at high angle velocities and single length hop only for the stretched leg. These findings suggest that PPS may be an effective technique for enhancing muscle performance.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Ergophysiology-Ergometry, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mandroukas
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vamvakoudis
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Metaxas
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kotoglou
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stefanidis
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Christoulas
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kyparos
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mandroukas
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D052580:Muscle Stretching Exercises / Q000379:methods*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D019415:Torque; D055815:Young Adult