Does Prophylactic Stretching Reduce the Occurrence of Exercise-Associated Muscle Cramping? A Critically Appraised Topic

J Sport Rehabil. 2023 Sep 27:1-4. doi: 10.1123/jsr.2022-0374. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTCLINICAL SCENARIO: Exercise-associated muscle cramps (EAMC) are sudden, painful, and involuntary contractions of skeletal muscles during or after physical activity. The best treatment for EAMC is gentle static stretching until abatement. Stretching is theorized to relieve EAMC by normalizing alpha motor neuron control, specifically by increasing Golgi tendon organ activity, and physically separating contractile proteins. However, it is unclear if stretching or flexibility training prevents EAMC via the same mechanisms. Despite this, many clinicians believe prophylactic stretching prevents EAMC occurrence.CLINICAL QUESTION: Do athletes who experience EAMC during athletic activities perform less prophylactic stretching or flexibility training than athletes who do not develop EAMC during competitions?SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS: In 3 cohort studies and 1 case-control study, greater preevent muscle flexibility, stretching, or flexibility training (ie, duration, frequency) was not predictive of who developed EAMC during competition. In one study, athletes who developed EAMC actually stretched more often and 9 times longer (9.8 [23.8] min/wk) than noncrampers (1.1 [2.5] min/wk).CLINICAL BOTTOM LINE: There is minimal evidence that the frequency or duration of prophylactic stretching or flexibility training predicts which athletes developed EAMC during competition. To more effectively prevent EAMC...
Source: Journal of Sport Rehabilitation - Category: Sports Medicine Authors: Source Type: research