Acute effects of stretching duration on the range of motion of elderly women

The effect of the duration of static stretching as well as that of multiple stretches in acute stretching protocols has not been extensively examined in the elderly. The aim of the present study was to investigate the acute effects of stretching duration on the range of motion (ROM) of the lower extremities and the trunk in elderly women, when stretching is performed once or in multiple repetitions while controlling the total amount of the time spent in one stretching session. Twenty sedentary subjects aging 65-85 years old (mean age=75.9) participated in this study. Subjects were recruited through advertisements in the local newspapers, as well as by word to mouth. Participants were healthy with no history of musculoskeletal or neurological disease. Subjects performed three static stretching protocols lasting for 60 s each, in non-consecutive training sessions. The first stretching protocol comprised of a 60 s stretch (1×60), the second of two 30 s stretches (2×30), whereas the third was of four 15 s stretches (4×15). ROM was determined during hip flexion, extension and abduction, knee flexion, and ankle dorsiflexion for the right and left side of the body, as well as during trunk flexion, using a flexometer and a goniometer. A mixed within-and between-subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures revealed similar ROM values between both sides of the body, for all measured joints. No significant differences were observed between the stretching protocols. Further statistical analysis indicated significant (P<0.001) improvements after the stretching exercises, in all flexibility protocols. The findings suggest that a single 60-s static stretch of the lower extremities and trunk's muscles produced the same effect as two 30 s and four 15 s stretches, during a flexibility training session involving sedentary elderly women.