Vibration and stretching effects on flexibility and explosive strength in young gymnasts
Seven articles on PainSci cite Kinser 2008: 1. The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain 2. Quite a Stretch 3. The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks 4. A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness 5. Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder 6. Vibration Therapies, from Massage Guns to Jacuzzis 7. “Windows of Opportunity” in Rehab
PainSci notes on Kinser 2008:
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,” William A Sands, Jeni R McNeal, Michael H Stone, Elizabeth M Russell, and Monem Jemni, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2006.
- “Vibration and stretching effects on flexibility and explosive strength in young gymnasts,” Ann M Kinser, Michael W Ramsey, Harold S O’Bryant, Christopher A Ayres, William A Sands, and Michael H Stone, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2008.
- “Effect of vibratory stimulation training on maximal force and flexibility,” V B Issurin, D G Liebermann, and G Tenenbaum, Journal of Sports Science, 1994.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- Photobiomodulation therapy is not better than placebo in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain: a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Guimarães 2021 Pain.
- No effect of creatine monohydrate supplementation on inflammatory and cartilage degradation biomarkers in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. Cornish 2018 Nutr Res.
- The CANBACK trial: a randomised, controlled clinical trial of oral cannabidiol for people presenting to the emergency department with acute low back pain. Bebee 2021 Med J Aust.
- Relationships Between Sleep Quality and Pain-Related Factors for People with Chronic Low Back Pain: Tests of Reciprocal and Time of Day Effects. Gerhart 2017 Ann Behav Med.
- Modulation in the elastic properties of gastrocnemius muscle heads in individuals with plantar fasciitis and its relationship with pain. Zhou 2020 Sci Rep.