Increasing Skin Temperature Means Warming Up the Body
A study from Brazil published in Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation investigated the acute effects of static stretching on skin temperature, flexibility, passive muscle stiffness, and pain during hamstring stretching in healthy young subjects.
Why would this be important?
Because if stretching increases skin temperature, then it can be assumed that it increases the temperature of the myofascial tissues. This would mean that stretching might be an effective means of warming up the body.
Study
Thirty-one participants (n = 31) were randomly divided into 2 groups: an experimental group which was submitted to progressive hamstring stretching exercise for 180 seconds, and the control group which did not stretch. Participants in the stretching group were first positioned on a stretcher in the supine position with their hip flexed to 90°. They were then asked to perform a maximum extension of the knee and maintain the position for about 10 seconds; they then relaxed before performing further repetitions. The total time spent stretching during this protocol was 180 seconds (3 minutes).
Skin Temperature
Concurrently, skin temperature was measured in subjects’ posterior thigh using a thermographic camera at 7 time points with 30 second intervals: T0 (rest), T30, T60, T90, T120, T150, and T180. In addition, the knee range of motion, passive stiffness, and muscle soreness (visual analogue scale) were recorded during the stretching procedure at the same times.
Stretching the Hamstrings. Permission Joseph E. Muscolino. The Muscle and Bone Palpation Manual – with Trigger Points, Referral Patterns, and Stretching, 2nd Edition (Elsevier, 2017).
Results
The results showed that stretching progressively increased skin temperature (30.8°C ± 0.6°C to 31.1°C ± 0.6°C). As expected, stretching also increased the range of motion and muscle soreness levels. Additionally, there was an increment of passive stiffness that was partially reversed toward the end of the stretching period.
This research presents evidence that constant, passive, and progressive stretching of the hamstrings progressively increased the local skin temperature by about 0.3°C after 180 seconds of stretching.
Digital COMT
Did you know that Digital COMT (Digital Clinical Orthopedic Manual Therapy), Dr. Joe Muscolino’s continuing education video streaming subscription service for massage therapists (and all manual therapists and movement professionals), has at present (November of 2018) more than 1,000 video lessons on manual therapy continuing education, including entire folders on stretching, joint mobilization, and massage. And we add seven (7) new videos lessons each and every week! And nothing ever goes away. There are also folders on Pathomechanics and Anatomy and Physiology, including an entire folder on Cadaver Anatomy… and many, many more on other manual and movement therapy assessment and treatment techniques? Click here for more information.
Conclusion
It has been assumed that stretching does not promote muscle warming and therefore is not effective as a warm-up. These findings may help to understand the effects of repeated stress on the muscle-tendon unit and the role of muscle stretching in warm-up protocols and rehabilitation.
Comment by Joseph Muscolino
Stretching is a movement therapy that is aimed at mobilizing soft tissues, primarily myofascial tissues. It is reasonable to assume that if stretching increases the temperature of the skin, then it also increases the temperature of the myofascial tissues inside the body that the stretch was meant to lengthen and mobilize. Therefore, we can extrapolate that stretching does, indeed, warm up the myofascial tissues of the body, and therefore would be one effective method of warming up the body before engaging in physical activity. Of course, this does not mean that stretching would be as effective at warming up the body, as say, time spent doing cardiovascular exercise such as on an elliptical or treadmill machine might be.
This blog post article was created in collaboration with www.terrarosa.com.au.
(Click here for the blog post article: How to Stretch Your Clients.)
Digital COMT
Did you know that Digital COMT (Digital Clinical Orthopedic Manual Therapy), Dr. Joe Muscolino’s continuing education video streaming subscription service for massage therapists (and all manual therapists and movement professionals), has at present (November of 2018) more than 1,000 video lessons on manual therapy continuing education, including entire folders on stretching, joint mobilization, and massage. And we add seven (7) new videos lessons each and every week! And nothing ever goes away. There are also folders on Pathomechanics and Anatomy and Physiology, including an entire folder on Cadaver Anatomy… and many, many more on other manual and movement therapy assessment and treatment techniques? Click here for more information.
