A standard operating procedure proposal for the warm-up of sit and reach test in young adults.

BACKGROUND

The sit and reach test (SRT) is an evaluation of muscle extensibility. Most studies adopting the SRT do not provide information about the warm-up. Whole body vibration (WBV) is a training that has positive outcomes also on flexibility performance. It was decided to evaluate how warm-up, also with WBV, influences flexibility and to propose a standard operating procedure that adopts this instrument.

METHODS

Ninety participants performed the SRT three times: half performed it with WBV to maximize the performance; half underwent a passive rest between the SRT. Data were analyzed with the Friedman Test and the Pairwise Comparisons Durbin-Conover.

RESULTS

Differences between SRT repetitions were reduced after two trials. SRT1 vs. SRT2 presented a difference of 1.1 cm (P=0.063), and SRT2 and SRT3 had a difference of 1 cm (P=0.453). The SRT results with WBV provided a valuable difference between the first and the second trial of 3.1 cm (P<0.001) while between the second and the third was 0.3 cm (P=0.609). No statistical differences were between SRT3 with and without WBV (P=0.384).

CONCLUSIONS

There was an acute positive effect of WBV on flexibility. The findings also suggest that before the SRT, participants had to perform a standardized warm-up.