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Acute effects of static stretching on skeletal muscle relaxation at different ankle joint angles

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Abstract

Purpose

By combining electromyographic (EMG), mechanomyographic (MMG) and force analysis, the electromechanical delay during muscle relaxation (R-DelayTOT) was partitioned into electrochemical and mechanical components. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of changes in joint angle on R-DelayTOT components during relaxation after electrically evoked contractions before and after static stretching (SS) administration.

Methods

Nineteen male participants (age 24 ± 3 years; body mass 76.4 ± 8.9 kg; stature 1.78 ± 0.09 m; mean ± SD) were evaluated. Passive torque (T pass) of the plantarflexor muscles was measured at 0°, 10°, and 20° of dorsiflexion to determine joint stiffness. The maximum electrically evoked torque (pT) was also recorded at each angle. During pT, force, EMG and MMG signals were detected for offline calculations of R-DelayTOT and its electrochemical and mechanical components. The same procedures were repeated after SS.

Results

With increase in dorsiflexion angle, joint stiffness increased while R-DelayTOT and its mainly mechanical components decreased (from −8 to 20 %, P < 0.05). After SS, joint stiffness decreased (from 16 to 20 %, P < 0.05), while R-DelayTOT and its mainly mechanical components lengthened (from 8 to 28.5 %, P < 0.05). Moreover, post-SS R-DelayTOT and its components decreased with the increase in joint angle (from −13 to 31 %, P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The reduction in R-DelayTOT with increase in joint angle could be ascribed to the increase in joint stiffness, and not to alterations of the electrochemical processes during relaxation. SS lengthened R-DelayTOT and its components with a concomitant decrease in joint stiffness. Nevertheless, the reduction of the R-DelayTOT mainly mechanical components seen with dorsiflexion was similar to that before SS.

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Abbreviations

EMG:

Electromyogram

GM:

Gastrocnemius medialis

MF:

Mean frequency

MMG:

Mechanomyogram

pT:

Peak torque

R-DelayTOT :

Total relaxation delay

R-Δt F-MMGp-p :

Time delay between force decay beginning and the largest MMG signal displacement during relaxation

R-Δt MMG-Fend :

Time delay between the largest MMG displacement and force cessation

R-Δt MMGp-p:

Duration of peak-to-peak of the largest MMG signal displacement during relaxation

R-Δt EMG-F:

Time delay between muscle electrical activation cessation and the beginning of force decay

RMS:

Root mean square

ROM:

Range of motion

SEC:

Series elastic components

SS:

Static stretching

T pass :

Passive torque

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all the participants involved in the study, for their patience and committed involvement. The study was supported by a PUR Grant 2008 (#12-1-5059-281-10) assigned to Fabio Esposito by the Università degli Studi di Milano.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health (SCIBIS), Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Colombo 71, 20133, Milan, Italy

    Stefano Longo, Michela Devoto, Elena Monti, Massimo Venturelli, Eloisa Limonta, Susanna Rampichini, Angela Valentina Bisconti, Fabio Esposito & Emiliano Cè

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  1. Stefano Longo
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  2. Michela Devoto
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  3. Elena Monti
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  4. Massimo Venturelli
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  5. Eloisa Limonta
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  7. Angela Valentina Bisconti
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Correspondence to Stefano Longo.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical Standards of the institutional or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or compatible ethical Standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study.

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Longo, S., Devoto, M., Monti, E. et al. Acute effects of static stretching on skeletal muscle relaxation at different ankle joint angles. Sport Sci Health 12, 429–436 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-016-0309-6

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