Effects of Stretching on Strength of Proximal and Distal Group of Muscles - A Comparative Study

Muscular flexibility is believed to prevent injuries and improve movement therefore most coaches include stretching exercises in their pre-competition and pre-exercise warm-up routines. One question arises here, should sports persons avoid stretching exercises prior to sporting events thereby exposing themselves to musculoskeletal injuries, or should they continue stretching exercises prior to sporting events and risk losing the maximal performance? The aim of this study is to compare the effects of 2, 4, and 8 min of static stretching (SS) on isometric maximum voluntary contraction (MVCF) force between proximal (Hamstrings) and distal group (Calf) of muscles.