2012 Athletic Guide Preparation for Soccer - Men's ... - Ohlone College

J. Shelton et al. / HEALTH 1 (2009) 117-120 119
Height (Mts)
0.205
0.2
0.195
0.19
0.185
0.18
0.175
0.17
0.165
0.16
0.155
Static Stretching Group
Initial Jump I Jump II Jump III Jump
No of Jum ps
Figure 1. Graph showing the differences in vertical jump
height in the static stretching group.
Height (Mts)
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
Dynamic Stretching Group
Initial Jump I Jump II Jump III Jump
No of Jumps
Figure 2. Graph showing the differences in vertical jump
height in the dynamic stretching group.
stretching group which showed an increase of 13.06%,
as shown in Figures 1 and 2.
4. DISCUSSION
As the result shows dynamic warm up can definitely
increase the vertical jump height and therefore significantly
influences fitness performance, as compared to
the group that did static stretching as warm up. These
findings are similar to the studies done by Duncan and
Woodfield 2006 [7] and Faigenbaum et al., 2005 [6]
which show that dynamic stretching increases flexibility
as well as muscle power.
Among the subjects who did static stretching, from
Figure 3, we can see that there is a decrease in jump
height between the first and second jumps. This shows
that static stretching might actually reduce force production,
which is similar to the studies done by Rosenbaum
and Hennig, 1995 [1]. The main muscles involved in a
vertical jump are the calf, quadriceps and hamstrings.
These muscles were part of the static stretching protocol
of the warm up. On the other hand, we can see an increase
in the vertical jump height between second and
third jumps, this change could be because of the ten
minutes rest period in between the jumps. And this rest
period would have given time for the muscles to recover
after the period of static stretching. This implies that
static stretching actually causes a decrease in the force
production in these muscles as also shown in the studies
by Kokkonen et al., 1998 [3] and Knudson et al., 2000
[2]. Therefore the performance of the activity (vertical
jump height) is also decreased as a result of static
stretching which is also similar to the studies done by
McNeal J. and Sands W., 2003 [4]. The reason for this
decrease in performance could be attributed to an increase
in the musculo-tendinous unit (MTU) compliance,
leading to a decrease in the MTU ability to store elastic
energy in its eccentric phase as reported by Fletcher IM,
Jones B, 2004 [8]. The above evidences suggest that
static stretching prior to activity is not the best solution.
Static stretching does not necessarily lead to a decrease in
injury but may actually decrease the force production and
thereby decrease the vertical jump height for the athlete.
On the other hand we can see from Figure 4, there is
a significant increase in the vertical jump height in the
group that did dynamic stretching as part of the warm up,
which is similar to studies done by Faigenbaum et al,
2005 [6]. Studies by Duncan and Woodfield, 2006 [7]
have suggested that performing pre-event dynamic warm
up protocols may create an optimal environment for ex-
Height (Mts)
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
Static Vs Dynamic Stretching with STDEV
Initial Jump I Jump II Jump III Jump
No of Jum ps
Static Stretching Group
Dynamic Stretching Group
Figure 3. Graph showing the differences in vertical jump
height between the static and dynamic stretching groups (Using
AVERAGE +/- STDEV).
Height (Mts)
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Initial
Jump
Static Vs Dynamic Stretching
(using STDEV)
I Jump II Jump III Jump
No of Jumps
Static Stretching
Dynamic Stretching
Figure 4. Graph showing the differences in vertical jump
height between the static and dynamic stretching groups (Using
STDEV values).
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