Acute Effects of Muscle Stretching on Physical Performance, Range of Motion, and Injury Incidence in Healthy Active Individuals: A Systematic Review
Participants
Systematic review of studies in healthy active individuals.
Protocol
Compared the acute effects of static (SS), dynamic (DS) and PNF stretching on performance, range of motion (ROM) and injury prevention
Examined dose-response (stretch duration per muscle group), muscle length at testing, and whether post-stretch dynamic activity was included
Performance testing in the included studies was done on average 3-5 min after stretching
Key Results
Static stretching: −3.7% performance change; PNF: −4.4%; dynamic stretching: +1.3% — small-to-moderate effects when tested immediately after stretching, possibly from reduced muscle activation after SS and PNF
Dose-response: ≥60 s of SS per muscle group → −4.6%; <60 s → −1.1%
SS showed a moderate (2.2%) performance benefit at longer muscle lengths
Most studies had no post-stretching dynamic activity; when it was included, no clear performance effect of stretching was seen
DS produced small-to-moderate performance improvements when done within minutes of the activity
Injury: SS and PNF had no clear effect on all-cause or overuse injuries; no injury data exist for DS
All forms increased ROM acutely, typically lasting <30 min; mechanisms may be reduced muscle/tendon stiffness or improved stretch tolerance
Mechanism
Authors' reading: SS and PNF deficits are possibly due to reduced muscle activation; ROM gains come from acute reductions in muscle and tendon stiffness or neural adaptations that raise stretch tolerance.
Practical Application
Systematic review (Behm et al. 2016) in healthy active people: immediately after stretching, static stretching cost −3.7%, PNF −4.4%, dynamic stretching gained +1.3%; static holds of ≥60 s per muscle group cost −4.6% vs −1.1% under 60 s; with dynamic activity after the stretching, no clear performance effect remained; static/PNF had no clear effect on injuries and dynamic stretching has no injury data; ROM gains last under 30 min — stretch inside a warm-up that ends with dynamic work and performance is unaffected.
The authors' recommendation: stretching within a warm-up that includes post-stretch dynamic activity — for reducing muscle injuries and increasing joint ROM with inconsequential effects on performance.
If static stretching is wanted (flexibility, comfort): keep it under 60 s per muscle group and follow it with dynamic activity before the hard work — the dose-response and the "dynamic activity afterwards" finding both point this way.
Do not credit dynamic stretching with injury prevention — the review found no injury data for DS; its case is the small performance gain and ROM.
Not from this paper; the base's own practice: pre-ride dynamic routine of leg swings, hip circles, bodyweight squats and walking lunges — the review does not list exercises.
Limitations
High study heterogeneity; stretching protocols varied widely across studies
Most studies tested performance immediately (3-5 min) after stretching — effects with longer delays unclear
Injury evidence limited to SS and PNF; none for DS
How this entry was checked and changed
Content correction 2026-09-27
"DS within warm-up associated with reduced muscle injury risk" -> the abstract: SS and PNF had no clear effect on injuries and NO data exist for DS; corrected.
Added the abstract's results the entry omitted: SS +2.2% benefit at longer muscle lengths, ROM gains lasting <30 min, testing 3-5 min post-stretch, the authors' recommendation (stretch within a warm-up with post-stretch dynamic activity).
Sport "cycling" -> general (healthy active individuals, all activities); exercise list labelled as the base's own practice; lead now the review's numbers.