Influence of different durations of lower limb static stretching on the performance of long jump athletes: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

PurposeTo evaluate the influence of different durations of lower limb static stretching (SS) on the performance of long jump (LJ) athletes.Methods A crossover randomized controlled trial was conducted with 20 athletes, submitted to 4 conditions: 3 experimental conditions, performing the usual warm-up plus SS of quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior during 30 s, 1 min or 3 min; and a control condition, of only the usual warm-up. LJ performance was assessed before and immediately after the interventions/control.Results There was a significant change after the 3 min SS, with an improvement in the distance achieved (p = 0.012). However, there were no differences between the 4 conditions (p = 0.154).ConclusionResults suggest that SS performed for 30 s, 1 min or 3 min, seem not to influence the LJ performance, since despite an improvement in the distance reached after the 3 min SS, there were no significant differences between conditions.