Laurie's Blogs.

As I write this… I’m still on that plane (that I wrote about last week).  So, I’m going through research papers that I’ve saved on my desktop to read ‘sometime later’.  Today’s ‘sometime later paper’ is “Eccentric exercise improves joint flexibility in adults: A systematic review update and meta-analysis.”  (Diong et al 2022)

So, this was a literature review / meta-analysis  that looked at 27 trials comprised of a total of 911 participants (only 82 lost to follow-up all in all).

All papers evaluated changes in ROM subsequent to eccentric exercise interventions.  While some papers looked at other measures as well, that was not within the interest of the review.

Most of the papers looked at lower limbs, while just a handful looked at upper limbs.

AND?

“These findings imply that eccentric exercise can be used to increase and potentially maintain joint flexibility in adults.”

Other Key Take-Aways?

1.  Based on the review, it is not possible to conclude whether athletes should or should not stretch to optimize flexibility to achieve these aims. Instead, our review indicates that including eccentric exercise components in training regimes may help athletes and coaches achieve these aims, especially in sports involving high force or high velocity movements near end of range (e.g. rugby, soccer, sprinting) and sports involving joint movements through large ranges of motion (e.g. swimming, martial arts, gymnastics).

2.  These findings also suggest that eccentric exercise could be used to increase and maintain joint flexibility in people with a pathological loss of passive range of motion. 

How does this impact you?

Incorporate eccentric exercises!  

Alrighty!  Enjoy your week ahead!

Cheers,  Laurie