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BILATERAL DIFFERENCES IN SHOULDER ROTATION WITH UNILATERAL STATICS STRETCHING DUE TO CROSS-EDUCATION

Abstract

Research has shown that unilateral resistance training can lead to strength increases in the untrained contralateral limb due to cross education. However, less is known about the effects of cross education with unilateral stretching to increase range of motion, which may have implications for sport performance and injury rehabilitation. PURPOSE: To determine the effects of unilateral static stretching on contralateral shoulder external rotation in resistance trained males. METHODS: Resistance-trained, young adult males (n = 15; 18 - 25 y) completed a 7-day unilateral static stretching intervention of the right shoulder. Stretching was conducted for 5-10 minutes, twice daily. Shoulder external rotation was measured at baseline and following the intervention using a manual goniometer and an average of three measures were taken for the right (trained) and left shoulder (untrained). Data were analyzed using a 2 (shoulder) x 2 (time) repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni comparisons and an alpha level set at 0.05. Data are presented as mean ± SD. RESULTS: There was a significant main effect of time on shoulder external rotation (p = .008; η2 = .41) with increases from pre (91.8 ± 7.6°) to post (95.3 ± 6.6°). However, there was no difference between the trained (94.1 ± 6.8°) and untrained shoulder (93.0 ± 7.0°; p = .15; η2 = .14). Finally, there was no interaction between shoulder side and time on external rotation (p = .61; η2 = .02). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that shoulder external rotation increased with a static stretching intervention in both the trained and untrained shoulder. This suggests that cross education may play a role in improving contralateral shoulder external rotation following a static stretching intervention. However, the findings of this study are limited to investigating the effects on shoulder external rotation in resistance trained males, impacting the generalizability of our findings. Future research would be beneficial to determine the effects of cross education on range of motion across major joints for injury rehabilitation and in more diverse groups.

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