The impact of stretching exercises in preventing muscle shortening in female soccer players
Keywords:
Female football players, Muscle shortening, StretchingAbstract
The aim of the research was to analyse the effect of stretching exercises on the reduction of muscle shortening in two single-group, time-nonconcurrent experiments conducted with female football players from the clubs MŠK Žilina (E1) and AFK Slávia Malešice (E2). The research sample consisted of 32 female football players (n = 32) with a decimal age of 25.23 ± 4.82 years. The occurrence of shortened muscles and muscle groups was assessed using standardized tests. The baseline examination identified five muscle groups with the highest prevalence of shortening, for which a specific set of stretching exercises was subsequently designed. The experimental intervention consisted of ten stretching exercises, with two variants proposed for each muscle group. The exercises were systematically integrated into training sessions over an eight-week period. The most frequently shortened muscles included the rectus femoris muscle, pectoralis major muscle, hip adductors, triceps surae muscle, knee flexors, and the erector spinae muscle. After completion of the intervention program, a follow-up assessment was conducted, which demonstrated a positive effect of the stretching exercises on reducing the prevalence of shortened muscles. In group E1, statistically significant changes were observed at the significance level p < 0.01 for the hip adductors and the triceps surae muscle. At the significance level p < 0.05, a significant change was recorded for the rectus femoris muscle. In group E2, statistically significant changes at p < 0.01 were found for the rectus femoris and triceps surae muscles, while significance at the p < 0.05 level was demonstrated for the hip adductors and the erector spinae muscle. The results of the analysis confirm that systematic targeting of shortened muscle groups through a focused stretching intervention aimed at specific muscles leads to a statistically significant reduction in muscle shortening and has a positive effect on muscular balance.
