Effect of a static calf-stretching exercise on the resistive torque during passive ankle dorsiflexion in healthy subjects

Abstract

Study design: A within-subject experimental design was used with to measure the effect of calf-stretching exercises on the resistive torque during passive ankle dorsiflexion in a group of 20 healthy men (aged 21 to 40).

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine if the performance of calf-stretching exercises would produce a decrease in resistive torque during passive ankle dorsiflexion.

Background: Calf-stretching exercises are widely used in sporting, fitness, and rehabilitation settings yet the effects of stretching on the passive mechanics of the ankle joint are not well understood.

Methods and measures: A KIN-COM isokinetic dynamometer was used to measure the passive resistive torque of the ankle while the joint complex was moved through return cycles from 10 degrees plantarflexion to 10 degrees dorsiflexion at a constant velocity of 6 degrees/s. Each subject's right or left ankle was randomly assigned to either a control or an experimental condition. The latter underwent a total of 4 static stretches, each lasting 30 seconds.

Results: The main findings of the study were that the calf-stretching exercises did not produce a significant reduction in the resistive torque during ankle dorsiflexion, as measured by the peak to peak torque at 10 degrees of ankle dorsiflexion or in the center range of the hysteresis loop at 0 degree dorsiflexion.

Conclusion: Static calf-stretching exercises of short duration did not reduce the passive resistance of the connective tissue within the surrounding muscle and joint structures in the ankles of healthy young men.