This time, I'd like to talk about exercises that are not helpful in preventing sprains.
Have you ever had a sprained ankle?
A sprained ankle may cause some inconveniences such as difficulty in walking or limited exercise.Because of this, it is not uncommon for people to believe that preparatory exercises can prevent sprains and still practice them before exercise when sprains are likely to occur.
However, it is difficult to know the effect of this practice. However, few people are aware of the effects of preparatory gymnastics, and I would like to introduce a study that investigated this question.
The study
The study aimed to investigate the acute and chronic effects of dynamic stretching on the anterior response properties of the peroneus brevis and tibialis anterior muscles.
A total of 21 male athletes (mean age 22.6 years, range 20-30 years) were randomly divided into two groups: a dynamic stretching group (n = 11) and a control group (n = 10).
Participants in the dynamic stretching group performed stretching exercises for the external ankle and dorsiflexor muscles five days a week for six weeks.
Response characteristics of the peroneal and tibialis muscles were assessed at baseline (twice for acute effects) and at the end of the intervention.
Electromyographic activity parameters, including muscle reaction time, reaction duration, and magnitude of response, were measured using the ankle inversion tilt platform.
There were no significant differences in the acute and chronic effects of dynamic stretching exercises on reaction time, reaction duration, and muscle activity of the peroneal and tibialis anterior muscles at the four positions of the ankle inversion simulation platform.
Discussion
The results of the study suggest that there are no positive or negative effects of dynamic stretching on the ankle joint.To begin with, it is thought that increasing the response of muscle reflexes in ankle sprains may be necessary to prevent sprains.
Perhaps, but many people in clinical practice may say something similar.
In another study, there was a reduction in reaction time after interventions such as neuromuscular training, with some results as high as 20% in terms of numbers.
However, stretching did not show such an effect.
Why stretching? Stretching causes tension in the muscles, which affects gamma motor neuron activity, which in turn stimulates muscle spindles, resulting in a higher muscle response.
Since this study did not confirm such a thing, some people may want to criticize the research model due to the small number of subjects, etc., but it is possible that the benefits of dynamic stretching may not be available.
However, it is possible that the benefits of dynamic stretching may not be realized. So, it is not completely useless to do dynamic stretching before exercise.
This study also confirmed that there was an increase in the range of motion of the joints.
Since there is no decrease in muscle output, the disadvantages of dynamic stretching before exercise may be small, but it does show that the term "sprain prevention" may not fit.
Şekir U, Arslan G, İlhan O, Akova B. Dynamic stretching does not affect peroneal and tibial muscle reaction properties. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. 2019;65(3):259-267. ):259-267. published 2019 Apr 30. doi:10.5606/tftrd.2019.3179
Conclusion
Although it is unlikely to be useful in preventing sprains, the fact that it affects joint movement and other aspects of the body means that there is no reason to stop dynamic stretching during the first day of exercise.
I don't know if these results are the belief of people involved in exercise, but many people stubbornly believe that they can prevent it.
If you really want to prevent sprains, neuromuscular training of the target muscles as mentioned above would be more effective in preventing them.
