@Article{Nakamura2026,
journal="Biology of Sport",
issn="0860-021X",
year="2026",
title="Repeated static stretching was more effective for increasing 
range of motion and decreasing passive stiffness than 
a combination of a thermal agent with static stretching",
abstract="Combining	static	stretching	(SS)	and	thermal	agents	could	be	beneficial	for	improving	range	of	motion	(ROM)	and	passive	stiffness.	However,	in	many	previous	studies,	combining	SS	and	thermal	agents	resulted	in	a longer	intervention	time	than	SS	alone.	Therefore,	it	is	unclear	whether	the	effects	of	SS	alone	and	combining	SS	and	thermal	agents	are	similar	when	the	total	intervention	time	is	standardized.	This	study	aimed	to	compare	the	effects	of	SS	alone	and	combine	SS	with	thermal	agents	when	the	intervention	time	is	standardized	for	10 minutes.	The	participants	were	14 healthy	sedentary	males	(21.0	±	0.4 y)	in	three	conditions:	1)	120 s SS	(480 s rest+120 s SS),	2)	Heat+120 s SS	(480 s thermal	agent+120 s SS),	and	3)	120 s SS	×	4 times	(120 s SS	×	4 repetitions+40 s rest{	×	3 times})	conditions.	The	ankle	dorsiflexion	(DF)	ROM,	passive	torque	at	DF	ROM,	passive	stiffness,	and	plantar	flexors	maximal	voluntary	isometric	contraction	(MVIC)	torque	were	measured	before	(PRE)	and	immediately	after	the	intervention	(POST).	Two-way	repeated-measures	analysis	of	variance	showed	significant	interaction	effects	in	DF	ROM	and	passive	stiffness	but	not	in	passive	torque	at	DF	ROM	and	MVIC.	Post-hoc	tests	showed	that	DF	ROM	in	the	120 s SS	×	4 times	condition	was	significantly	higher	than	in	the	120 s SS	condition,	and	the	decrease	in	passive	stiffness	in	the	120 s SS	×	4 times	condition	was	significantly	higher	than	in	the	120 s SS	and	the	Heat+120 s SS	conditions.	In	conclusion,	repeating	SS	induced	greater	ROM	increases	and	passive	stiffness	decreases	than	combining	SS	with	thermal	agents	in	a standardized	intervention	lasting	10 minutes.",
author="Nakamura, Masatoshi
and Konrad, Andreas
and Takeuchi, Kosuke
and G Behm, David",
pages="1447--1453",
doi="10.5114/biolsport.2026.161101",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2026.161101"
}