A Survey on Stretching Practices in Women and Men from Various Sports or Physical Activity Programs

Nicolas Babault, Gaelyann Rodot, Marrain Champelovier and Carole Cometti
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Nicolas Babault: Center for Performance Expertise, CAPS, U1093 INSERM, University of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Faculty of Sport Sciences, 3 allée des Stades Universitaires, BP 27877, 21078 Dijon CEDEX, France
Gaelyann Rodot: Center for Performance Expertise, CAPS, U1093 INSERM, University of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Faculty of Sport Sciences, 3 allée des Stades Universitaires, BP 27877, 21078 Dijon CEDEX, France
Marrain Champelovier: Center for Performance Expertise, CAPS, U1093 INSERM, University of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Faculty of Sport Sciences, 3 allée des Stades Universitaires, BP 27877, 21078 Dijon CEDEX, France
Carole Cometti: Center for Performance Expertise, CAPS, U1093 INSERM, University of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Faculty of Sport Sciences, 3 allée des Stades Universitaires, BP 27877, 21078 Dijon CEDEX, France

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: Recommendations for prescribing stretching exercises are regularly updated. It appears that coaches progressively follow the published guidelines, but the real stretching practices of athletes are unknown. The present study aimed to investigate stretching practices in individuals from various sports or physical activity programs. A survey was completed online to determine some general aspects of stretching practices. The survey consisted of 32 multiple-choice or open-ended questions to illustrate the general practices of stretching, experiences and reasons for stretching. In total, 3546 questionnaires were analyzed (47.3% women and 52.7% men). Respondents practiced at the national/international level (25.2%), regional level (29.8%), or recreationally (44.9%). Most respondents (89.3%) used stretching for recovery (74.9%) or gains of flexibility (57.2%). Stretching was generally performed after training (72.4%). The respondents also indicated they performed stretching as a pre-exercise routine (for warm-up: 49.9%). Static stretching was primarily used (88.2%) but when applied for warm-up reasons, respondents mostly indicated performing dynamic stretching (86.2%). Only 37.1% of the respondents indicated being supervised. Finally, some gender and practice level differences were noticed. The present survey revealed that the stretching practices were only partly in agreement with recent evidence-based recommendations. The present survey also pointed out the need to improve the supervision of stretching exercises.

Keywords: training; warm-up; injury; performance; recovery; periodization; methodology; health; wellness; gender; competitive level (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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