Full-Body and Lower-Limb Stretching on Explosive Power and Agility (static stretch)

August 31, 2026 updated by: Yueh-Ling Hsieh, China Medical University Hospital

Do Stretching Variations Affect Performance? A Comparison of Full-Body and Lower-Limb Stretching on Explosive Power and Agility Reaction Time

Stretching is commonly used during warm-up and recovery and can influence flexibility, neuromuscular control, and joint range of motion. However, the acute effects of different stretching scopes on jump and agility performance remain unclear. This study will compare whole-body and lower-limb static stretching in 60 healthy university students randomly assigned to whole-body stretching, lower-limb stretching, or control groups. Each intervention will last 14 minutes. Jump performance will be assessed using the standing long jump, squat jump, countermovement jump, and drop jump with a Vmaxpro sensor, while agility will be evaluated using the T-Test and Hexagon Agility Test. The findings are expected to clarify how stretching scope influences acute physical performance and may inform warm-up and physical therapy strategies.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

Stretching exercise is one of the most commonly used strategies for pre-exercise warm-up and post-exercise recovery, and its physiological effects involve muscle flexibility, neuromuscular control, and joint range of motion. However, empirical evidence regarding the acute effects of different stretching scopes on jumping ability and agility remains relatively limited, as most previous studies have focused on individual muscles or localized muscle groups. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the effects of static stretching involving different body regions, specifically whole-body and lower-limb stretching, on explosive performance and agility.

A pretest-intervention-posttest design will be adopted. A total of 60 healthy university students (30 males and 30 females) are expected to be recruited and randomly assigned to a whole-body stretching group (10 males and 10 females), a lower-limb stretching group (10 males and 10 females), or a control group (10 males and 10 females). The duration of the static stretching intervention will be standardized to 14 minutes. The whole-body stretching group will perform stretching exercises targeting the major muscle groups of the upper limbs, trunk, and lower limbs, whereas the lower-limb stretching group will focus on key lower-limb muscle groups, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gastrocnemius. The control group will remain seated quietly for 14 minutes without performing any stretching exercise.

Participants will undergo a series of physical performance assessments before and after the intervention. Jump performance will be evaluated using the standing long jump, squat jump, countermovement jump, and drop jump. All jump-related data will be recorded using a Vmaxpro wireless inertial measurement sensor (BM Sports Technology GmbH, Germany), providing key parameters such as jump height, peak velocity, and peak power. Agility will be assessed using the T-Test and Hexagon Agility Test.

It is hypothesized that excessive static stretching may cause an acute reduction in muscular strength and explosive performance. The whole-body stretching group may demonstrate only a slight decrease in jump performance while maintaining relatively stable agility performance, whereas the lower-limb stretching group may exhibit changes in both jump and agility performance. The findings of this study are expected to clarify the relationship between the scope of static stretching and subsequent physical performance and may provide evidence to support the design of pre-exercise warm-up strategies and physical therapy interventions.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
    • Beitun
      • Taichung, Beitun, Taiwan, 406040
        • Recruiting
        • Department of Physical Therapy, China Medical University
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Yueh-Ling Hsieh, PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy university students aged 18-30 years who are able to safely perform jumping and agility tasks will be recruited from the university community. Participants with recent musculoskeletal injuries, relevant surgery, cardiovascular disease, exercise contraindications, or conditions affecting test performance will be excluded.

Description

Healthy university students aged 20-30 years Regularly engaged in physical activity Not specialized in weightlifting or jumping disciplines Able to understand the study procedures and provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

Acute lower-limb or low-back injury within the previous three months Fracture, sprain, or muscle strain within the previous three months Related surgery or medical treatment within the previous three months Pain, swelling, inflammation, or restricted movement on the day of testing Any condition that may compromise exercise safety Physician-advised restriction from moderate- to high-intensity exercise Cardiovascular disease or other exercise contraindications Neurological, musculoskeletal, or balance impairments that may affect test performance

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Whole-Body Stretching
Healthy university students who performed the whole-body static stretching protocol.
Lower-Limb Stretching Group
Healthy university students who performed the lower-limb static stretching protocol.
Non-Stretching Control Group
Healthy university students who remained seated quietly without performing stretching exercises.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Hexagon Agility Test Completion Time
Time Frame: From baseline to immediately after the 15-min intervention
Agility performance will be assessed using the Hexagon Agility Test. Participants will complete two valid trials, and the mean completion time will be used for analysis. Completion time will be recorded in seconds, with a shorter time indicating better agility performance.
From baseline to immediately after the 15-min intervention
T-Test Agility Test Completion Time
Time Frame: From baseline to immediately after the 15-min intervention
Agility performance will be assessed using the T-Test Agility Test. Participants will complete two trials, and completion time will be recorded in seconds using a photocell timing gate system. The mean completion time of the two trials will be used for analysis, with lower values indicating better agility performance.
From baseline to immediately after the 15-min intervention
Squat jump height
Time Frame: From baseline to immediately after the 15-min intervention
Squat jump performance will be assessed using a wireless inertial measurement sensor. Participants will perform two valid squat jump trials, and the mean jump height will be used for analysis. Jump height will be recorded in centimeters, with higher values indicating better jump performance.
From baseline to immediately after the 15-min intervention
Countermovement Jump Height
Time Frame: From baseline to immediately after the 15-min intervention
Countermovement jump performance will be assessed using a wireless inertial measurement sensor. Participants will perform two valid countermovement jump trials, and the mean jump height will be used for analysis. Jump height will be recorded in centimeters, with higher values indicating better jump performance.
From baseline to immediately after the 15-min intervention
Drop Jump Reactive Strength Index
Time Frame: From baseline to immediately after the 15-min intervention
Reactive strength during the drop jump will be assessed using a wireless inertial measurement sensor. The reactive strength index will be calculated as jump height divided by ground contact time. Participants will perform two valid trials, and the mean reactive strength index will be used for analysis. Values will be expressed in meters per second, with higher values indicating better reactive strength performance.
From baseline to immediately after the 15-min intervention
Standing Long Jump Distance
Time Frame: From baseline to immediately after the 15-min intervention
Horizontal lower-limb explosive performance will be assessed using the standing long jump. Participants will perform two valid trials, and the mean jump distance will be used for analysis. Jump distance will be recorded in centimeters, with higher values indicating better performance.
From baseline to immediately after the 15-min intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

China Medical University Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 28, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 26, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 31, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 1, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 1, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 31, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CMUH115-REC3-011
  • NSTC115-2813-C-039-101-B (Other Grant/Funding Number: National Science and Technology Council)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data are not planned for public sharing. De-identified data may be made available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, subject to applicable ethical and institutional requirements.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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