Vibration and stretching effects on flexibility and explosive strength in young gymnasts
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Replicates the findings of both Issurin and Sands — “simultaneous vibration and stretching may greatly increase flexibility, while not altering explosive strength.”
original abstract†Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
PURPOSE: Effects of simultaneous vibration-stretching on flexibility and explosive strength in competitive female gymnasts were examined.
METHODS: Twenty-two female athletes (age = 11.3 +/- 2.6 yr; body mass = 35.3 +/- 11.6 kg; competitive levels = 3-9) composed the simultaneous vibration-stretching (VS) group, which performed both tests. Flexibility testing control groups were stretching-only (SF) (N = 7) and vibration-only (VF) (N = 8). Explosive strength-control groups were stretching-only (SES) (N = 8) and vibration-only (VES) (N = 7). Vibration (30 Hz, 2-mm displacement) was applied to four sites, four times for 10 s, with 5 s of rest in between. Right and left forward-split (RFS and LFS) flexibility was measured by the distance between the ground and the anterior suprailiac spine. A force plate (sampling rate, 1000 Hz) recorded countermovement and static jump characteristics. Explosive strength variables included flight time, jump height, peak force, instantaneous forces, and rates of force development. Data were analyzed using Bonferroni adjusted paired t-tests.
RESULTS: VS had statistically increased flexibility (P) and large effect sizes (d) in both the RFS (P = 1.28 x 10(-7), d = 0.67) and LFS (P = 2.35 x 10(-7), d = 0.72). VS had statistically different results of favored (FL) (P = 4.67 x 10(-8), d= 0.78) and nonfavored (NFL) (P = 7.97 x 10(-10), d = 0.65) legs. VF resulted in statistical increases in flexibility and medium d on RFS (P = 6.98 x 10(-3), d = 0.25) and statistically increased flexibility on VF NFL flexibility (P = 0.002, d = 0.31). SF had no statistical difference between measures and small d. For explosive strength, there were no statistical differences in variables in the VS, SES, and VES for the pre- versus posttreatment tests.
CONCLUSIONS: Simultaneous vibration and stretching may greatly increase flexibility while not altering explosive strength.
related content
- “Flexibility enhancement with vibration: Acute and long-term,” an article in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2006.
- “Vibration and stretching effects on flexibility and explosive strength in young gymnasts,” an article in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2008.
- “Effect of vibratory stimulation training on maximal force and flexibility,” an article in Journal of Sports Science, 1994.
These three articles on PainScience.com cite Kinser 2008 as a source:
- PS Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain Syndrome — A guide to the unfinished science of muscle pain, with reviews of every theory and self-treatment and therapy option
- PS Quite a Stretch: Stretching Hype Debunked — Stretching science has shown that this extremely popular form of exercise has almost no measurable benefits
- PS Save Yourself from Neck Pain! — A complete guide to chronic neck pain and the disturbing sensation of a “crick”
