Acute non-local effects on range of motion and drop jumping performance following static stretching of the knee extensors and knee flexors

Background The aim of this work was to evaluate the acute range of motion and jumping performance of a single leg drop jump following static stretching (SS) applied to muscles of the thigh (non-local effects). Methods Ninety participants (23.1 ± 3.28 years; 65.7 ± 1.83 kg; 167 ± 9.46 cm) took part in a study involving a control session (CS) and four interventions: single stretching of knee extensor muscles (KE), knee flexor muscles (KF), and both muscle groups in reverse order (KE/KF and KF/KE groups). Measurements of passive hip flexion (PSLR) and extension (PHE), as well as a single leg drop jumping performance (SLDJ), were recorded for the right limb at baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1), and 15 min post-intervention (T2). In all analyses, the significance level was set at 0.05. Results No significant variations were observed for the CS. Statistically significant increases for PSLR and PHE tests were observed. Post-hoc analysis between T0 and T1 revealed differences in PSLR following the KF (p < 0.001) and KE/KF groups (p = 0.006) and in PHE following the KF (p = 0.025) and KF/KE groups (p < 0.001). However, no significant differences were observed in SLDJ for any of the groups. Conclusion These findings suggest that acute non-local stretching despite increases local ROM does not directly impact muscle performance in adjacent body segments. Non-local static stretching may be applied in sports and rehabilitation settings, without impacting on subsequent performance or if local stretching cannot be applied.