Effects of static and dynamic stretching of lower limb muscles on oxygen uptake, heart rate variability, oxidized hemoglobin of muscular blood vessels and muscular discharges during incremental exercise

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Comprehensive Rehabilitation Science Vol. 11; pp. 59 - 64
• Main Authors: Ujikawa, Takuya, Koga, Tomoshige
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kaifukuki Rehabilitation Ward Association 2020
• Subjects: dynamic stretching; electromyogram; heartratevariability; incrementalexercise; static stretching
• ISSN: 2185-5323; 2185-5323
• DOI: 10.11336/jjcrs.11.59

Ujikawa T, Koga T. Effects of static and dynamic stretching of lower limb muscles on oxygen uptake, heart rate variability, oxidized hemoglobin of muscular blood vessels and muscular discharges during incremental exercise. Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 2020; 11: 59‐64. Objective: This study was conducted to clarify the effects of three types of warming up (WU), namely static stretching (SS), dynamic stretching (DS) and cycle ergometer riding at 20 watts (ergo), on cardiopulmonary function and muscle activity during incremental exercise. Methods: Ten healthy adult males (aged 20.6 ± 0.5 years) participated in this study. Oxygen uptake, heart rate variability, oxidized hemoglobin and discharges of lower limb muscle were continuously recorded during WU and the subsequently performed incremental exercise. Results: The sympathetic nervous activity index analyzed from heart rate variability, oxygen uptake and cardiac output significantly increased, and the parasympathetic nervous activity index decreased after DS and ergo compared to those after SS. However, no significant differences were found between those values while exercise was maintained at the anaerobic threshold level. Conclusion: DS and ergo were suggested to be effective for adapting to exercise, but these effects seemed to disappear at the anaerobic threshold level.