Acute effects of static-stretching on the shoulder joint-position sense: A randomized controlled crossover trial

• Author(s): Azevedo, Joana ; Sousa, Joana ; Moreira-Silva, Isabel ; Cardoso, Ricardo ; Seixas, Adérito
• Date: 2024
• Origin: Athena Health & Research Journal
• Document Type: Journal article
• Language: English

Description

Introduction: The influence of static-stretching on variables like shoulder muscle strength has been addressed in different sports. However, its effect on the joint-position sense is poorly investigated. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of static-stretching on the shoulder-joint position sense of overhead athletes. Methodology: A three-period block-randomized controlled crossover trial was conducted from December 2023 to February 2024 at a rehabilitation and health research laboratory with 17 competitive overhead athletes (9 males and 8 females), aged between 18 and 30 years, with normal range of motion of shoulder flexion. Excluded were those with history of shoulder injury in the last 6 months, and with positive shoulder integrity tests. In random order, all participants performed 3 conditions: control (5-minute rest), and a 30s or 90s static-stretching of muscles around the shoulder. Before and immediately after these conditions, position sense was tested through active repositioning to 110º of flexion, with a video camera, and described as absolute, relative and variable angular errors. Results: A significant increase was only found in the absolute angular errors of the static-stretching of 30s condition between the initial assessment and after the static-stretching (p=0.015). However, no differences between conditions were found (p=0.874). Conclusion: Results suggest that static-stretching may have acute effects on the shoulder joint-position sense, appearing to be harmful when performed for 30s, but innocuous when performed for 90s. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID - NCT06226974