ReviewSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2016
Stretching the Spines of Gymnasts: A Review.
Review in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- How long should athletes with high range of motion demands stretch? Acute stretching durations for flexibility and performance: a systematic review.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Is There a "Window of Opportunity" for Flexibility Development in Youth? A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- Whole-Body Vibration Effects on Flexibility in Artistic Gymnastics-A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Pooled it
- Global, regional, and National burdens of cervical spinal cord injuries from 1990 to 2021, findings from global burden of disease study 2021.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Article
- The Impact of Lower Back Pain on Hip Extension and Lumbosacral Lateral Flexion in Junior Gymnasts during Back-Bending.Journal of human kinetics · 2025Article
- A double-blind randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of the Mézières method and Isostretching postures in sagittal stand position evaluated through the Spinal MouseArchives of medical science : AMS · 2025Article
- Optical Marker-Based Motion Capture of the Human Spine: A Scoping Review of Study Design and Outcomes.Annals of biomedical engineering · 2024Article
- Anorexic Readiness Syndrome in Elite Female Acrobatic Gymnasts-International Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Prevalence of muscle imbalance and its potential influence on injury among female acrobatic dancers.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2022Article
- Acute and long-term effects of two different static stretching training protocols on range of motion and vertical jump in preadolescent athletes.Biology of sport · 2021Article
- Comparison between gymnasts and non-gymnasts in isometric strength of the lower limbs.European journal of translational myology · 2021Article
- Gastrocnemius Medialis Architectural Properties in Flexibility Trained and Not Trained Child Female Athletes: A Pilot Study.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- THE FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT SCREEN (FMS™) IN ELITE YOUNG SOCCER PLAYERS BETWEEN 14 AND 20 YEARS: COMPOSITE SCORE, INDIVIDUAL-TEST SCORES AND ASYMMETRIES.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 7 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Gymnastics is noted for involving highly specialized strength, power, agility and flexibility. Flexibility is perhaps the single greatest discriminator of gymnastics from other sports. The extreme ranges of motion achieved by gymnasts require long periods of training, often occupying more than a decade. Gymnasts also start training at an early age (particularly female gymnasts), and the effect of gymnastics training on these young athletes is poorly understood. One of the concerns of many gymnastics professionals is the training of the spine in hyperextension-the ubiquitous 'arch' seen in many gymnastics positions and movements. Training in spine hyperextension usually begins in early childhood through performance of a skill known as a back-bend. Does practising a back-bend and other hyperextension exercises harm young gymnasts? Current information on spine stretching among gymnasts indicates that, within reason, spine stretching does not appear to be an unusual threat to gymnasts' health. However, the paucity of information demands that further study be undertaken.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.