Pre- and Post-Activity Stretching Practices of Collegiate Athletic Trainers in the United States

• Autores: Jennifer K. Popp, David M. Bellar, Donald L. Hoover, Bruce W. Craig, Brianna N. Leitzelar, Elizabeth A. Wanless, Lawrence W. Judge
• Localización: Journal of strength and conditioning research: the research journal of the NSCA, ISSN 1064-8011, Vol. 31, Nº. 9, 2017, págs. 2347-2354
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The aim of the study was to investigate the knowledge and practices of collegiate-certified athletic trainers (ATs) in the United States. Participants (n = 521) were provided an overview of the study and a hyperlink to a web-based survey. The “pre- and post-activity practices in athletic training questionnaire” consisted of demographic items and elements to measure knowledge and practices related to pre- and post-activity stretching routines. In previous studies, the survey demonstrated construct validity, [alpha] = 0.722. Pearson chi-square test was used to evaluate goodness of fit, and kappa was calculated to measure agreement between items. Only 32.2% of ATs recommended dynamic stretching (DS) to be performed pre-activity, whereas a larger percentage (42.2%) recommended a combination of static stretching (SS) and DS. Athletic trainers reported that only 28.0% of athletes are performing DS before activity. Conversely, 60.6% of collegiate ATs recommended SS postexercise, and 61.0% of athletes agree and perform after workout SS ([kappa] = 0.761, p < 0.001). Collegiate ATs seem to underuse the current research evidence, which indicates that DS is more beneficial than SS when used pre-activity, and ATs continue to regularly incorporate SS in their pre-activity routines. However, there is evidence that collegiate ATs in the United States emphasize SS postactivity in a manner consistent with current research.