ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2017 December;176(12):659-64

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.17.03452-0

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Static stretching of the pectoralis major decreases triceps brachii activation during a maximal isometric bench press

Paulo H. MARCHETTI ¹ ✉, Rogério G. REIS ¹, Willy A. GOMES ¹, Josinaldo J. da SILVA ¹, Enrico G. SOARES ¹, Fabio S. de FREITAS ¹, David G. BEHM ²

¹ Graduate Program in Science of Human Movement, College of Health Science (FACIS), Methodist University of Piracicaba, Piracicaba, Brazil; ² School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada

BACKGROUND: Static stretching (SS) not only increases the range of motion (ROM) of the stretched muscle but can also enhance the ROM of homonymous and heteronymous contralateral muscles. Whereas prolonged SS can lead to performance impairments of the stretched muscle, deficits in muscle activation have not been investigated with non-stretched muscles that contribute to a task such as a bench press. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of prolonged SS of the pectoralis major muscle on the synergic activation of the pectoralis major (PM) and triceps brachii (TB) muscle during an isometric bench press action.
METHODS: Fourteen young, healthy, resistance-trained men had their shoulder complex passively stretched (horizontal abduction) with six stretches of 45-s each, with 15-s rest between each stretch at an intensity of 70-90% of the point of discomfort. The integrated electromyography (IEMG) activity and the median frequency (MFreq) of the PM and TB were monitored during a 3-s of maximal isometric bench press action.
RESULTS: Passive shoulder ROM significantly increased 5.5%. Both PM (32.60%) and TB (12.60%) IEMG decreased from pre- to post-SS. There were no significant differences between pre- and post-SS for RPE and Mfreq.
CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged SS of a muscle (PM) can negatively impact the activation of auxiliary muscle (TB) involved with the same multi-joint action, which can have implications for individuals who are training or competing.

KEY WORDS: Fatigue - Applied kinesiology - Neurosciences