The Effects of Static and Dynamic Stretching on Standing Long Jump in Adolescent Boys

Background: Stretching as a warm-up technique before intensive exercise is an accepted practice in athletes’ preparation for optimal performance. Stretching is also associated with the reduction of injuries. Little information is available on the effects of pre-performance stretching in adolescents.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of static and dynamic stretching on standing long jump (SLJ) in adolescent boys.

Methods: Thirty-two adolescents, (M±SD) age 15.9 ±0.3 y, participated in this study. Each subject performed four SLJs, in a randomized order on separate days during two weeks. These included two baseline trials, one jump following static stretching (SS), and one following dynamic stretching (DS). The best of three successive jumps was recorded. After each jump the subject subjectively evaluated his jump quality using a 10cm scale, without knowing the jumping distance.

Results: Jump distance without prior SS or DS was significantly higher compared to jumps following SS (202.22±29.23 vs 192.41± 30.13cm, p£0.01) or following DS (192.22 ±28.01 cm, p£0.01). The subjective evaluation of the jumps was significantly higher (p£0.045) following the jumps without stretching (7.01±1.56 cm) compared with SS (5.98± 2.24 cm) and DS (6.38±2.34 cm).

Conclusions: It is recommended not to employ SS or DS before intensive tasks (e.g. jumping or sprinting). However, DS and SS may be used following the task performance for recovery from the exercise. Furthermore, SS intensity should be set under the point of the boys` maximum discomfort for a short duration (e.g., 30 s) during a short training (e.g. 1-2 repetitions).