Date of Award:

5-2012

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Kinesiology and Health Science

Department name when degree awarded

Health, Physical Education, and Recreation

Committee Chair(s)

Dale Wagner

Committee

Dale Wagner

Committee

Jeffrey M. Willardson

Committee

Gerald Smith

Committee

Phillip J. Waite

Abstract

There has been a great deal of research investigating the effects of stretching preceding strength training, jumping and running. Static stretching, as the name implies, involves stretching a muscle and holding the stretch with minimal or no movement for a given duration. Several studies have shown that static stretching before strength training or jumping can actually result in poorer performances. Static stretching may reduce the nervous system’s ability to recruit muscles or it may reduce the ability of the muscle to produce force directly.

All major skeletal muscles have an opposing or antagonist muscle that acts in opposition to it. For example the quadriceps muscles extend (increase the angle between the foot and upper thigh) the knee and the hamstrings perform the opposite movement (knee flexion). Previous research has investigated the effects of stretching on the muscle primarily involved in the movement. No known research has attempted to determine the effects of stretching the antagonist muscle for a given movement. Because antagonist muscles provide a braking force to the movement of their opposing muscles, stretching the antagonist muscle could reduce this braking force. This could potentially enhance strength and power following antagonist stretching.

The current study investigated the hypothesis that stretching the antagonist muscles would improve strength and jumping ability. Sixteen active males were tested for vertical jump height and knee extension strength on a machine that controlled lifting speed. The participants tested knee extension strength at a fast and slow speed.
Electromyography, a measure of a muscle’s electrical activity, was taken during knee extension tests for the quadriceps and the hamstring muscles. This test was done to determine if antagonist stretching affects the nervous system’s ability to recruit the quadriceps and hamstrings during knee extensions. Each test was performed with and with out antagonist stretching.

Stretching the antagonist muscles resulted in a significant improvement in knee extension strength at the fast speed. It also significantly improved jumping ability. Antagonist stretching did not result in a significant difference for electromyography or knee extension strength at the slow speed. Antagonist stretching may provide a method for enhancement for high velocity activities such as jumping. Strength and conditioning practitioners could use this information to implement antagonist stretching during training and competition to increase performance and/or overload during training.

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This work made publicly available electronically on April 10, 2012.

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