ArticleSpringerPlus2015
Four weeks of regular static stretching reduces arterial stiffness in middle-aged men.
Article in SpringerPlus, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- Musculoskeletal Stretching and Arterial Stiffness: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Acute and Longitudinal Interventions.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Pooled it
- Optimising the Dose of Static Stretching to Improve Flexibility: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis and Multivariate Meta-regression.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Pooled it
- The Efficacy of Stretching Exercises on Arterial Stiffness in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized and Non-Randomized Controlled Trials.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- The acute effect of passively assisted trunk stretching on central arterial stiffness and blood pressure in middle-aged to older adults.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Trial
- Acute self-myofascial release modulates cardiac autonomic function and hemodynamic parameters at rest and reduces cardiovascular stress reaction.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Trial
- Acute and Chronic Effects of Supervised Flexibility Training in Older Adults: A Comparison of Two Different Conditioning Programs.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Effect of Flexibility Training Associated with Multicomponent Training on Posture and Quality of Movement in Physically Inactive Older Women: A Randomized Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Six weeks stretching of lower limbs lowers blood pressure in hypertensive individuals.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Effects of Different Types of Stretching on Hypertension: A Systematic Review with Exploratory Meta-Analysis.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Review
- Assessing the impact of a novel dynamic stretching routine targeting myofascial chains for warm-up in trained adults.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Health-Related Physical Fitness Associated With Hypertension Risk in Adults Living in Sub-Plateau Environments.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2025Article
- Investigations of segmental arterial stiffness in a cross-sectional study on young adult male trained swimmers, cyclists, and non-trained men.Physiological reports · 2025Article
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- Acute effects of low-intensity one-legged electrical muscle stimulation on arterial stiffness in experimental and control limbs.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Association between Yoga Participation and Arterial Stiffness: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Effects of acute cervical stretching on arterial wall elastic properties.Frontiers in physiology · 2023Article
- Impact of Exercise on Vascular Function in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Scoping Review.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Impact of Sex on the Association between Flexibility and Arterial Stiffness in Older Adults.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Review
- Four weeks of lower-limb static stretching reduces regional arterial stiffness in middle-aged and older women.Physical activity and nutrition · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Trunk flexibility may be associated with arterial stiffness in young, middle-aged, and older healthy men after adjusting for blood pressure. This study assessed the effects of 4 weeks of regular static stretching on arterial stiffness in middle-aged men. Sixteen healthy men (43 ± 3 years) were assigned to control or intervention groups (n = 8 each). The control group did not alter their physical activity levels throughout the study period. The intervention group participated in five supervised stretching sessions per week for 4 weeks. Each session comprised 30 min of mild stretching that moved the major muscle groups through the full range of motion and stretches were held three times for 20 s at the end range. Flexibility was assessed by sit-and-reach test. Arterial stiffness was assessed by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI). Four weeks of stretching increased sit-and-reach (Control, Pre: 31.4 ± 2.1, Post: 30.8 ± 2.7 vs. Intervention, Pre: 30.6 ± 5.3, Post: 43.9 ± 4.3 cm), and reduced baPWV (Control, Pre: 1204 ± 25, Post: 1205 ± 38 vs. Intervention, Pre: 1207 ± 28, Post: 1145 ± 19 cm/s) and CAVI (Control, Pre: 7.6 ± 0.3, Post: 7.5 ± 0.3 vs. Intervention, Pre: 7.7 ± 0.2, Post: 7.2 ± 0.2 units) in the intervention group. However, the change in sit-and-reach did not significantly correlate with the changes in arterial stiffness. These findings suggest that short-term regular stretching induces a significant reduction in arterial stiffness in middle-aged men.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.