The acute effects of gastrocnemius stretching on ankle dorsiflexion and balance in individuals with gastrocnemius muscle tightness
Keywords:
stretching, ankle dorsiflexion, balance, gastrocnemius tightnessAbstract
Gastrocnemius tightness leads to a reduction in ankle dorsiflexion range of motion, which can cause muscle imbalance and may impact postural stability. The objective of this research was to study the immediate effects of calf muscle stretching on ankle range of motion and balance. Thirty-four individuals with gastrocnemius muscle tightness were randomly assigned to both static stretching (SS) and dynamic stretching (DS) with at least 24 hours interval. The participants were assessed for passive ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (DFROM), maximum lunge range of motion (LROM) and star excursion test (SEBT) before and immediately after each stretching. The result showed that both SS and DS significantly increased DFROM, LROM, and SEBT score immediately after gastrocnemius stretching. The DS resulted in a significantly greater increase in DFROM compared to SS (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the effectiveness of both stretching techniques in improving balance ability (SEBT score). This study concluded that both types of stretching can enhance ankle dorsiflexion and balance ability immediately after stretching in individuals with gastrocnemius muscle tightness.
Downloads
References
Vandervoort AA, Chesworth BM, Cunningham DA,Rechnitzer PA, Paterson DH, Koval JJ. An outcome measure to quantify passive stiffness of the ankle. Can J Public Health Rev Can Sante Publique 1992;83(Suppl 2):S19-23.
Page P. Current concepts in muscle stretching for exercise and rehabilitation. Int J Sports Phys Ther 2012;7(1):109–19.
Cipriani DJ, Terry ME, Haines MA, Tabibnia AP, Lyssanova O. Effect of stretch frequency and sex on the rate of gain and rate of loss in muscle flexibility during a hamstring-stretching program: a randomized single-blind longitudinal study. J Strength Cond Res2012;26(8):2119–29.
Merino-Marban R, Romano D, Mayorga-Vega D. Influence of sex on the acute effect of stretching on V sit-and-reach scores in university students. Cent Eur J Sport Sci Med 2014;6(2):13–9.
Lee JW, Yoon SW, Kim JH, Kim YP, Kim YN. The effect of ankle range of motion on balance performance of elderly people. J Phys Ther Sci 2012;24(10):991–4.
Behm D, Blazevich A, Kay A, McHugh M. Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence in healthy active individuals: a systematic review. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2016; 41(1):1-11.
Vittala G, Sundari LPR, Basuki N, Kuswardhani RAT, Purnawati S, Muliarta IM. The addition of active stretching to balance strategy exercise is the most effective as a home-based exercise program in improving the balance of the elderly. J Midlife Health 2021;12(4):294-8.
Costa PB, Graves BS, Whitehurst M, Jacobs PL. The acute effects of different durations of static stretching on dynamic balance performance. J Strength Cond Res 2009;23(1):141–7.
Chatzopoulos D, Galazoulas C, Patikas D, Kotzamanidis C. Acute effects of static and dynamic stretching on balance, agility, reaction time and movement time.J Sports Sci Med 2014;13(2):403–9.
You JY, Lee HM, Luo HJ, Leu CC, Cheng PG, Wu SK. Gastrocnemius tightness on joint angle and work of lower extremity during gait. Clin Biomech Bristol Avon 2009; 24(9):744–50.
Macklin K, Healy A, Chockalingam N. The effect of calf muscle stretching exercises on ankle joint dorsiflexion and dynamic foot pressures, force and related temporal parameters. Foot Edinb Scotl 2012;22(1):10–7.
Williams CM, Caserta AJ, Haines TP. The TiltMeter app is a novel and accurate measurement tool for the weight bearing lunge test. J Sci Med Sport 2013;16(5):392– 5.
Hoch MC, Andreatta RD, Mullineaux DR, English RA, Medina McKeon JM, Mattacola CG, et al. Two-week joint mobilization intervention improves self-reported function, range of motion, and dynamic balance in those with chronic ankle instability. J Orthop Res Off Publ Orthop Res Soc 2012;30(11):1798–804.
Mizuno T, Umemura Y. Dynamic stretching does not change the stiffness of the muscle-tendon unit. Int J Sports
Med 2016;37(13):1044-50.
Iwata M, Yamamoto A, Matsuo S, Hatano G, Miyazaki M, Fukaya T, et al. Dynamic stretching has sustained
effects on range of motion and passive stiffness of the hamstring muscles. J Sports Sci Med 2019;18(1):13–20.
Konrad A, Stafilidis S, Tilp M. Effects of acute static, ballistic, and PNF stretching exercise on the muscle and
tendon tissue properties. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2017;27(10):1070–80.
Nakamura M, Sato S, Kiyono R, Yahata K, Yoshida R, Fukaya T, et al. Comparison of the acute effects of hold-relax and static stretching among older adults. Biology 2021;10(2):126.
Morse CI, Degens H, Seynnes OR, Maganaris CN, Jones DA. The acute effect of stretching on the passive stiffness of the human gastrocnemius muscle tendon unit. J Physiol 2008;586(1):97–106.
Kay AD, Husbands-Beasley J, Blazevich AJ. Effects of contract-relax, static stretching, and isometric contractions
on muscle-tendon mechanics. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2015;47(10):2181–90.'
Wilson G, Elliott B, Wood G. Stretch shorten cycle performance enhancement through flexibility training.
Med Sci Sports Exerc 1992;24:116–23.
Kubo K, Kanehisa H, Kawakami Y, Fukunaga T. Influence of static stretching on viscoelastic properties of human tendon structures in vivo. J Appl Physiol 2001;90(2):520–7.
Kato E, Kanehisa H, Fukunaga T, Kawakami Y. Changes in ankle joint stiffness due to stretching: the role of tendon elongation of the gastrocnemius muscle. Eur J Sport Sci 2010;10(2):111–9.
Samukawa M, Hattori M, Sugama N, Takeda N. The effects of dynamic stretching on plantar flexor muscletendon tissue properties. Man Ther 2011;16:618–22.
Pamboris GM, Noorkoiv M, Baltzopoulos V, Gokalp H, Marzilger R, Mohagheghi AA. Effects of an acute bout
of dynamic stretching on biomechanical properties of the gastrocnemius muscle determined by shear wave elastography.
PloS One 2018;13(5):e0196724.
Magnusson SP, Aagaard P, Nielson JJ. Passive energy return after repeated stretches of the hamstring muscle-tendon unit. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2000;32(6):1160–4.
Behm DG, Chaouachi A. A review of the acute effects of static and dynamic stretching on performance. Eur J
Appl Physiol 2011;111(11):2633–51.
Martínez-Jiménez EM, Losa-Iglesias ME, Becerro-de-Bengoa-Vallejo R, Díaz-Velázquez JI, López- López D, Calvo-Lobo C, et al. Immediate effects of intermittent bilateral ankle plantar flexors static stretching on balance and plantar pressures. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2020;43(1):24–31.
Behm DG, Bambury A, Cahill F, Power K. Effect of acute static stretching on force, balance, reaction time, and movement time. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2004;36(8):1397–402.
Huang S, Zhang HJ, Wang X, Lee WC, Lam WK. Acute effects of soleus stretching on ankle flexibility, dynamic
balance and speed performances in soccer players. Biology 2022;11(3).
Bouvier T, Opplert J, Cometti C, Babault N. Acute effects of static stretching on muscle-tendon mechanics of quadriceps and plantar flexor muscles. Eur J Appl Physiol 2017;117(7):1309–15.
Young W, Elias G, Power J. Effects of static stretching volume and intensity on plantar flexor explosive force production and range of motion. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 2006;46:403–11.
Bok SK, Lee TH, Lee SS. The effects of changes of ankle strength and range of motion according to aging on
balance. Ann Rehabil Med 2013;37(1):10–6.
Sung ES, Kim JH. Relationship between ankle range of motion and biodex balance system in females and males. J Exerc Rehabil 2018;14(1):133–7.
Park D, Lee JH, Kang TW, Cynn HS. Effects of a 4-week self-ankle mobilization with movement intervention on ankle passive range of motion, balance, gait, and activities of daily living in patients with chronic stroke: a randomized
controlled study. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis Off J Natl Stroke Assoc 2018;27(12):3451–9.
Kim SL, Lee BH. The Effects of posterior talar glide and dorsiflexion of the ankle plus mobilization with movement
on balance and gait function in patient with chronic stroke: a randomized controlled trial. J Neurosci Rural Pract
;9(1):61–7.
Ghaffarinejad F, Taghizadeh S, Mohammadi F. Effect of static stretching of muscles surrounding the knee on knee
joint position sense. Br J Sports Med 2007;41(10):684–7. "
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ministry of Public Health
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
