Pre- and Post-Activity Stretching Practices of Collegiate Athletic Trainers in the United States.
Popp, JK, Bellar, DM, Hoover, DL, Craig, BW, Leitzelar, BN, Wanless, EA, and Judge, LW. Pre- and post-activity stretching practices of collegiate athletic trainers in the United States. J Strength Cond Res 31(9): 2347-2354, 2017-The aim of the study was to investigate the knowledge and practices of collegiate-certified athletic trainers (ATs) in the United States. Participants (n = 521) were provided an overview of the study and a hyperlink to a web-based survey. The "pre- and post-activity practices in athletic training questionnaire" consisted of demographic items and elements to measure knowledge and practices related to pre- and post-activity stretching routines. In previous studies, the survey demonstrated construct validity, α = 0.722. Pearson chi-square test was used to evaluate goodness of fit, and kappa was calculated to measure agreement between items. Only 32.2% of ATs recommended dynamic stretching (DS) to be performed pre-activity, whereas a larger percentage (42.2%) recommended a combination of static stretching (SS) and DS. Athletic trainers reported that only 28.0% of athletes are performing DS before activity. Conversely, 60.6% of collegiate ATs recommended SS postexercise, and 61.0% of athletes agree and perform after workout SS (κ = 0.761, p < 0.001). Collegiate ATs seem to underuse the current research evidence, which indicates that DS is more beneficial than SS when used pre-activity, and ATs continue to regularly incorporate SS in their pre-activity routines. However, there is evidence that collegiate ATs in the United States emphasize SS postactivity in a manner consistent with current research.
1School of Kinesiology, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana; 2School of Kinesiology, University of Louisiana Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana; and 3Department of Physical Therapy, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Jennifer K
JK
Popp
David M
DM
Bellar
Donald L
DL
Hoover
Bruce W
BW
Craig
Brianna N
BN
Leitzelar
Elizabeth A
EA
Wanless
Lawrence W
LW
Judge
D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D052580:Muscle Stretching Exercises / Q000379:methods*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013177:Sports / Q000193:education; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities