Acute stretching and arterial stiffness

What is it about?

Increased arterial stiffness is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, a main causal factor of mortality worldwide. Recent studies showed acute one-legged static stretching reduces arterial stiffness in the stretched leg. However, a mechanism of static stretching-induced decrease in arterial stiffness remains unclear. As a potential mechanism of the stretching effect, a vasodilation via continuous high shear stress induced by stretching may be involved in low arterial stiffness. In the finding of this study, the stretched leg’s shear stress significantly increased from 0 to 10th sec after stretching. Additionally, the arterial stiffness after acute passive one-legged intermittent calf stretching (30 s × 6 sets) was effectively reduced in the protocols using relaxation periods of 10 s to 20 s.

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Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash

Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Stretching is a well-known and easy exercise and is attracting attention as a new exercise to reduce arterial stiffness. Thus, the intermittent stretching protocol should use adequate relaxation time to achieve a greater shear rate and to thus obtain a greater reduction in arterial stiffness. Therefore, these findings of this study may contribute to the development of stretching and/or yoga therapies to reduce arterial stiffness.

Perspectives