Effects of Dynamic Stretching on Neuromuscular Reaction Time of Young Female Athletes

Abstract

"Introduction. Reaction time is the ability to perform a single (non repeated) movement in the shortest time and it is a crucial skill in sports. It has been shown that using different warm-up strategies can improve performance output. Recently it has been discovered that static stretching may temporarily decrease the muscle’s ability to perform. Objectives. The aim of this paper was to determine if the neuromuscular reaction time during jumping is influenced by dynamic stretching. Materials and Methods. The participants in this study were young female basketball players (N = 22), ages from 16 to 18 years old that underwent two measurements using the MGM-15 carpet in two situations: without doing dynamic stretching and after doing dynamic stretching. Results. There was a significant statistical difference in the scores between the control and after dynamic stretching measurements. This means that the dynamic stretching had an influence over the reaction time. Conclusion. The results of the present research demonstrated that local neuromuscular reaction time increased significantly after dynamic stretching compared to the baseline condition. Keywords: dynamic stretching, reaction time, female, athletes, neuromuscular "