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Relaxation of Skeletal Muscles01:29

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Wave summation
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Skeletal muscle relaxants are widely used for muscle paralysis and relieving pain following any muscle injury or stiffness. However, depending on the drug type, they can have adverse effects that range from mild to severe. Usually, nondepolarizing neuromuscular blockers have minimal side effects. For example, drugs like d-tubocurarine, cisatracurium, and rocuronium cause hypotension, whereas drugs like baclofen, when stopped abruptly, can lead to the recurrence of spastic conditions.
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Application of Consistent Massage-Like Perturbations on Mouse Calves and Monitoring the Resulting Intramuscular Pressure Changes
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Acute decrease in the stiffness of resting muscle belly due to static stretching.

K Taniguchi1, M Shinohara, S Nozaki

  • 1School of Health Sciences, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Japan.

Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports
|March 11, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Static stretching temporarily reduces gastrocnemius muscle stiffness, enhancing ankle joint flexibility. This effect is short-lived, returning to baseline within 20 minutes post-exercise.

Keywords:
joint flexibilitymuscle elasticityshear modulusstrain injuriesultrasound elastography

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Area of Science:

  • Biomechanics
  • Musculoskeletal Physiology

Background:

  • Muscle stiffness, specifically in the gastrocnemius, influences joint range of motion.
  • Understanding the acute effects of interventions like stretching on muscle properties is crucial for rehabilitation and performance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the immediate impact of static stretching on the resting stiffness of the gastrocnemius muscle belly.
  • To correlate changes in muscle stiffness with alterations in ankle joint dorsiflexion range of motion.

Main Methods:

  • Ten healthy adults underwent static stretching (5x1 min holds) of the calf.
  • Ultrasound shear-wave elastography measured gastrocnemius shear modulus (stiffness) before and after stretching.
  • Ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) was assessed concurrently.

Main Results:

  • Static stretching significantly increased ankle dorsiflexion ROM by 3.9° (P < 0.01), returning to baseline in 20 minutes.
  • Immediately post-stretching, gastrocnemius shear modulus decreased by 14% (P < 0.01), also transiently.
  • A control group performing the same intervention without stretching showed no significant changes.

Conclusions:

  • Static stretching acutely reduces gastrocnemius muscle belly stiffness, contributing to increased ankle joint flexibility.
  • Lower resting muscle stiffness is associated with greater joint range of motion.