The influence of acute static stretching on the ankle joint-position sense of soccer players: A randomized controlled crossover trial.

INTRODUCTION

The effect of static stretching (SS) on the ankle joint-position sense (A-JPS) is still poorly investigated, with the available studies presenting considerable methodological differences, highlighting the need for further investigations. In that sense, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of two different durations of acute SS on the A-JPS of soccer players.

METHODS

A three-period block-randomized controlled crossover trial was conducted from February to March 2024 with 19 soccer players, aged 18-30 years, with normal range of plantar flexion, without history of lower limb injuries in the last six months, and negative ankle integrity tests. All participants performed three conditions: two experimental conditions, of SS of the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior, for 30 or 90 s; and a control condition (rest). A-JPS of the dominant limb was assessed before and immediately after for the range of 20° of plantar flexion by active repositioning, using a video camera. Absolute, relative and variable angular errors were calculated.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences between the assessments before and after any of the conditions, neither between conditions in the absolute or relative angular errors (p > 0.05). Variable angular errors indicated a significant improvement in consistency between repositionings in the control (p = 0.024) and SS of 30 s (p = 0.025) conditions, although without differences between conditions (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that acute SS of the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior, performed for 30 s or 90 s, does not seem to influence the A-JPS of soccer players.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ID - NCT06320977.