title: Unilateral static and dynamic hamstrings stretching increases contralateral hip flexion range of motion.
abstract: Static (SS) and dynamic stretching (DS) can lead to subsequent performance impairments or enhancement with the stretched limb. Crossover or non-local muscle fatigue (NLMF) refers to unilateral fatigue-induced impairments in a contralateral or non-exercised muscle. Whereas there are conflicting findings in the NLMF literature, there are few studies examining the effect of an acute bout of SS or DS on contralateral flexibility, torque or power. Fourteen highly trained subjects (means ± standard deviations: 18 ± 2 years; 179·4 ± 4·6 cm; 70·5 ± 6·3 kg; %body fat: 10·7 ± 2·5%) were tested before and following separate sessions of eight repetitions of 30 s of unilateral hip flexion SS or DS. Pre- and postintervention testing at 1 and 10 min included hip flexor range of motion (ROM), isokinetic leg flexion torque and power at 60°.s-1and 300°.s-1of the stretched and contralateral limbs. The stretched limb had a 6·3% (P = 0·01; ES: 0·91) ROM increase with DS at 10 min. The contralateral non-stretched hip flexors experienced ROM increases with SS of 5·7% (P = 0·02; ES: 0·68) from pretest to 1 min post-test, whereas DS showed 7·1% (P<0·0001; ES: 1·09) and 8·4% (P = 0·005; ES: 0·89) increases, respectively. There were no relative differences in ROM changes between conditions or limbs nor any stretch-induced changes in isokinetic torque or power. In conclusion, unilateral SS and DS augment contralateral limb ROM likely through an increased stretch tolerance.
authors.affiliation: Tunisian Research Laboratory 'Sports Performance Optimization', National Center of Medicine and Science in Sports (CNMSS), Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Anis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chaouachi
authors.affiliation: Tunisian Research Laboratory 'Sports Performance Optimization', National Center of Medicine and Science in Sports (CNMSS), Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Johnny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Padulo
authors.affiliation: Tunisian Research Laboratory 'Sports Performance Optimization', National Center of Medicine and Science in Sports (CNMSS), Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Sofien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kasmi
authors.affiliation: Tunisian Research Laboratory 'Sports Performance Optimization', National Center of Medicine and Science in Sports (CNMSS), Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Aymen Ben
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Othmen
authors.affiliation: Tunisian Research Laboratory 'Sports Performance Optimization', National Center of Medicine and Science in Sports (CNMSS), Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Moktar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chatra
authors.affiliation: School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NF, Canada.
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Behm
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D056352:Athletes; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004576:Electromyography; D000070633:Hamstring Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D053580:Muscle Strength; D052580:Muscle Stretching Exercises / Q000379:methods*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D019415:Torque; D014416:Tunisia; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: crossover; flexibility; power; stretch tolerance; torque