ACUTE EFFECTS OF STRETCHING EXERCISE ON THE

HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN SUBJECTS WITH LOW

FLEXIBILITY LEVELS
PAULO T.V. FARINATTI,1,2 CAROLINA BRANDAO,1 PEDRO P.S. SOARES,2,3 AND ANTONIO F.A. DUARTE4
1
Laboratory of Physical Activity and Health Promotion (LABSAU), Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;
2
Physical Activity Sciences Graduate Program, Laboratory of Exercise Physiology, Salgado de Oliveira University, Niteroi,
Brazil; 3Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Fluminense Federal University, Niteroi, Brazil; and 4Research Institute of
the Army Physical Capacity Center (IPCFEx), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

ABSTRACT exercise and had a slower postexercise reduction. Stretching

Farinatti, PTV, Brandao, C, Soares, PPS, and Duarte, AFA. Acute
effects of stretching exercise on the heart rate variability in
subjects with low flexibility levels. J Strength Cond Res 25(6):
15791585, 2011The study investigated the heart rate (HR)
and heart rate variability (HRV) before, during, and after stretching
exercises performed by subjects with low flexibility levels. Ten
men (age: 23 6 2 years; weight: 82 6 13 kg; height: 177 6 5 cm;
sit-and-reach: 23 6 4 cm) had the HR and HRV assessed during
30 minutes at rest, during 3 stretching exercises for the trunk and
sessions including multiple exercises and sets acutely changed
the sympathovagal balance in subjects with low flexibility,
especially enhancing the postexercise vagal modulation.
KEY WORDS sympathetic nervous system, parasympathetic
nervous system, autonomic balance, physical training, fitness,
health
INTRODUCTION

hamstrings (3 sets of 30 seconds at maximum range of motion),
and after 30 minutes postexercise. The HRV was analyzed in the
time (SD of normal NN intervals [SDNN], root mean of the
squared sum of successive differences [RMSSD], number of
pairs of adjacent RR intervals differing by .50 milliseconds
divided by the total of all RR intervals [PNN50]) and frequency
domains (low-frequency component [LF], high-frequency com- eceptors and to the static contraction of antagonist muscle
ponent [HF], LF/HF ratio). The HR and SDNN increased during
exercise (p , 0.03) and decreased in the postexercise period
(p = 0.02). The RMSSD decreased during stretching (p = 0.03)
and increased along recovery (p = 0.03). At the end of recovery,
HR was lower (p = 0.01), SDNN was higher (p = 0.02), and
PNN50 was similar (p = 0.42) to pre-exercise values. The LF
increased (p = 0.02) and HF decreased (p = 0.01) while
stretching, but after recovery, their values were similar to pre-
exercise (p = 0.09 and p = 0.3, respectively). The LF/HF ratio
increased during exercise (p = 0.02) and declined during
recovery (p = 0.02), albeit remaining higher than at rest (p = 0.03).
In conclusion, the parasympathetic activity rapidly increased after
stretching, whereas the sympathetic activity increased during
Address correspondence to Paulo T.V. Farinatti, pfarinatti@gmail.com,
farinatt@uerj.br.
25(6)/15791585
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
2011 National Strength and Conditioning Association
R
egular physical activity is believed to influence the
autonomic nervous activity, reducing the sympa-
thetic activity and increase the vagal tone
(4,28,32). Flexibility training is an important
element of fitness (1) and may also induce favorable changes
in the autonomic balance (18,20). Cardiovascular responses
to stretching are because of the activation of mechanor-
groups, which activate the autonomic nervous system
through sympathetic and parasympathetic pathways (10,26).
The analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) is acknowl-
edged as a measure of autonomic regulation of the cardiac
activity, especially the sympatheticparasympathetic balance
(32). It has been therefore used in many research and clinical
sets, including the study of the autonomic control during
physical activity (3,13,27). The HRV is a well-recognized tool
for assessing the autonomic modulation of the heart during
the recovery phase after exercise (13). The heart rate (HR)
and HRV responses during the postexercise are known to be
related to parasympathetic reactivation, particularly in the
first minutes of recovery (12). Because a higher para-
sympathetic reactivation and faster HR recovery after
exercise are commonly associated with lower risk for
cardiovascular disease (11,14), information about the poten-
tial effect of different types of exercise on the postexercise
HR and autonomic balance is useful to improve health
oriented physical activity intervention.
Unfortunately, studies focusing on the HRV responses to
flexibility training are scarce. We were able to find just one

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 Flexibility and Heart Rate Variability
research showing that athletes with limited flexibility
increased their HRV after a 28-day routine of 15-minute
daily stretching (25). A few more studies investigated the HR
and HRV acute responses to stretching, usually demonstrat-
ing that the HR increases, whereas the HRV decreases during
the exercise performance (10). However, to the best of our
knowledge, the effects of stretching sessions on the HRV
during the postexercise recovery have not yet been in-
vestigated. It remains therefore unclear whether flexibility
training contributes to a better autonomic balance profile.
Another limitation of the available research is that the
experimental protocols have generally applied stretching
exercises to a single muscle group, which is not usual in the
actual training context. This is also true for the number of sets
per exercise. Flexibility training is hardly single set designed.
Such an issue is essential because the number of sets may
influence the cardiovascular responses to exercises involving
prolonged muscle contraction (29). It seems to be the case of
the static training method, which consists of stretching
a muscle group to its farthest point and then holding that
position through static contractions for several seconds.
Furthermore, it is well accepted that 1 of the main limiting
factors during stretching is muscular resistance secondary to
reflex activity (21). It has been shown in such a context that
the electromyographic activity while stretching can be
significantly higher in subjects with low flexibility compared
to those with high flexibility levels (22,33). That is, for a given
joint angle, tight subjects probably display greater stiffness,
and therefore, more tension will be applied to sustain the
position. Because the cardiovascular responses to stretching
are related to the intensity and duration of the static
contraction, it is feasible to think that possible effects on the
autonomic balance would be more likely to occur in subjects
with low flexibility levels compared to those who are highly
flexible. In a health promotion perspective, it would therefore
be useful to investigate the HR and HRV responses to
flexibility training sessions performed with multiple sets and
different exercises, especially in untrained and tight subjects.
Because information on the effect of stretching on the HRV
seems to be lacking, the purpose of this study was to examine
the effect of a flexibility training session including 3 exercises
for the trunk and hamstrings performed with 3 sets and using
the static method, on the HR and HRV during and after the
exercise in subjects with low flexibility levels. It has been
hypothesized that the sympathetic modulation to the heart
would increase acutely during the stretching exercises,
whereas the parasympathetic modulation would increase in
the postexercise period. Additionally the HR at the end of the
recovery period was expected to be lower than at the pre-
exercise resting condition.
METHODS
Experimental Approach to the Problem
This study observed the HR response and HRV indexes after
3 sets of stretching exercises for the trunk and hamstrings in
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subjects with low flexibility levels. Subjects were asked not to
practice physical exercise or drink coffee or tea for at least
12 hours before the experiment. Data assessment took place
in the Spring, always in the morning in a temperature
controlled room (23 6 1C, air humidity between 60 and
65%). Participants were instructed not to engage in any form
of physical exercise in the previous 24 hours, to abstain from
alcohol, soft drinks and caffeine in the 8 hours preceding the
test and to fast for 2 hours. Before the stretching session, the
weight, height, and hiptrunk flexibility (sit-and-reach test
with a standard box in which the zero point was set at 26 cm)
were measured. The sit-and-reach was used only to confirm
that the volunteers had indeed limited flexibility levels, as self-
reported as inclusion criteria to participate in the study
(see Subjects). After that, the participants laid quietly for
10 minutes before assessing the HRV at rest.
The stretching protocol was performed according the static
method in the following exercises: (a) trunk flexion with the
right knee extended and the left lower limb relaxed in
semiflexion; (b) trunk flexion with the left knee extended and
the right lower limb relaxed in semiflexion; (c) trunk flexion
with the feet united, hips abducted, and knees flexed
butterfly position. The session consisted of 3 stretches for 30
seconds at the maximum range of motion with a 30-second
rest between sets and 1-minute rest between exercises. Each
training session lasted approximately 10 minutes, and the HR
was recorded continuously.
All subjects performed the same exercises, and the HR was
recorded during 30 minutes at rest in the supine position,
along the whole stretching session and throughout
30-minutes postexercise recovery also in the supine position.
To test whether stretching sessions produce acute effects on
the autonomic heart control, the last 10 minutes of the pre-
exercise, exercise, and postexercise periods were used as
windows to determine and compare the HRV indexes in the
time and frequency domains. The HR was also compared at
the beginning (HRi) and at the end (HRf ) of each observation
window (1st and 10th minutes of the pre-exercise, exercise,
and postexercise periods).
Subjects
Ten healthy male volunteers enrolled in the study (age: 23 6 2
years; weight: 82 6 13 kg; height: 177 6 5 cm). All subjects
have been practicing strength training for at least 1 year,
2 hours a day, and 35 times a week. They declared to have
very limited flexibility and have not stretched regularly for at
least 2 years. The sit-and-reach results confirmed that all
subjects had indeed low flexibility (mean: 23 6 4 cm,
minimum: 19 cm, maximum: 28 cm), being classified within
percentiles 1040 according to the American College of
Sports Medicine (1). The following additional exclusion
criteria were adopted: (a) use of drugs that could affect the
cardiovascular responses; (b) locomotor problems limiting
the performance of the exercises. The experimental approach
had institutional ethical board approval and appropriate
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TABLE 1. Mean values (6SD) for the HR and time domain indexes of HRV during each assessment period (pre-exercise,
exercise, and postexercise) (n = 10).*

HRi (bmin21) HRf (bmin21) SDNN (ms) RMSSD (ms) PNN50 (%)

Pre-exercise 73.1 612.1 73.9 6 10.7 63.7 6 17.2 49.0 6 14.3 12.6 6 9.0
Exercise 72.5 6 10.4 84.0 6 10.3 82.2 6 23.4 42.3 6 13.2 7.9 6 5.0
Postexercise 80.6 6 12.5 64.8 6 9.3 74.2 6 27.3k 55.3 6 15.4k 13.6 6 6.7{
*HR = heart rate; HRV = heart rate variability; SDNN = SD of normal NN intervals; RMSSD = root mean of the squared sum of
successive differences; PNN50 = number of pairs of adjacent RR intervals differing by .50 milliseconds divided by the total of all RR
intervals; HRf = mean heart rate assessed in the last minute of each observation window (pre-exercise, stretching protocol,
postexercise recovery); HRi = mean heart rate assessed in the first minute of each observation window (pre-exercise, stretching
protocol, postexercise recovery).
All variables were assessed during the last 10 minutes of pre-exercise, exercise, and postexercise periods, except for the HR, which
was measured in the 1st and 10th minutes of each 10-minute window.
Significantly different compared to HRi (Exercise, p = 0.03/effect size = 1.11 and Postexercise, p = 0.02/effect size = 1.43).
Significantly different compared to pre-exercise (HRi, p = 0.05/effect size = 0.61; HRf, p = 0.01/effect size = 0.91; SDNN, p =
0.01/effect size = 0.90; RMSSD, p = 0.03/effect size = 0.49; PNN50%, p = 0.05/effect size = 0.65).
kSignificantly different compared to pre-exercise (SDNN, p = 0.02/effect size = 0.46; RMSSD, p = 0.01/effect size = 0.42) and
exercise (SDNN, p = 0.02/effect size = 0.31; RMSSD, p = 0.03/effect size = 0.91).
{Significantly different compared to exercise (p = 0.05/effect size = 0.96).

consent has been obtained from all subjects before
participation in the study.
Heart Rate Variability Assessment
The HR was continuously assessed by an R-R monitor (Polar
S 810i, Polar Electro OyTM, Kempele, Finland) in 3 periods of
30 minutes: at rest (pre-exercise), during the stretching
protocol (exercise), and during recovery (postexercise). The
validity of the system used to assess HRV data was described
elsewhere (9,36). Time series of RR intervals were used for
time and frequency domain analysis using a customized routine
written in MATLAB (MathworksTM, Natick, MA, USA). The
overall variability of RR intervals was assessed in the time and
frequency domains by means of time series variance and Fast
Fourier Transformation, respectively. Spectral analysis was
performed using the Welch periodogram, with a Hanning
window and 50% overlap. The area under the curve of the
spectral peaks within the range of 0.010.4 Hz was defined as
the total power, the area underneath the spectral bands within
the range of 0.040.15 Hz was defined as the low-frequency
power (LF), and the area underneath the spectral band within
the range of 0.150.40 Hz was defined as the high-frequency
power (HF). The normalized high-frequency power (nHF) was
used as marker of vagal modulation, the normalized low-
frequency power (nLF) as marker of sympathetic and vagal
modulation, and the low-/high-frequency power ratio (LF/HF)
as marker of sympathovagal balance. The normalized frequency
indexes obtained by the present protocol were highly re-
producible. The testretest reliability for LF and HF repeated
after a 3-hour interval in a sample of 8 subjects aged 24 6 4 years
showed intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) that were
considered adequate for the purposes of the study (ICC at rest:
LF = 0.81, p , 0.001 and HF = 0.79, p , 0.001; ICC stretching:
LF = 0.90, p = 0.01 and HF = 0.91, p = 0.02; ICC postexercise:
LF = 0.77, p = 0.03 and HF = 0.79, p = 0.01).
In the time domain analysis, the following HRV markers
were calculated: (a) root mean of the squared sum of
successive differences (RMSSD); (b) SD of normal NN
intervals (SDNN); (c) number of pairs of adjacent RR
intervals differing by .50 milliseconds in the entire recording
divided by the total of all RR intervals (pNN50). It is
generally accepted that RMSSD and pNN50 are related to
the HR vagal modulation, whereas SDNN is considered to
reflect both sympathetic and the parasympathetic influence
on HRV (32). The testretest reliability for the frequency
domain markers was also satisfactory (ICC at rest: RMSSD =
0.76, p = 0.01; SDNN = 0.79, p = 0.03; pNN50 = 0.79,
p = 0.01; ICC stretching: RMSSD = 0.80, p , 0.001; SDNN
= 0.81, p = 0.04; pNN50 = 0.79, p = 0.02; ICC postexercise:
RMSSD = 0.75, p = 0.05; SDNN = 0.77, p = 0.02; pNN50 =
0.79, p = 0.01).
Statistical Analyses
The hypotheses of normality and variance homogeneity were
proven, respectively, using the WilkShapiro and Levene
Tests. Within-group comparison between the results of HRV
indexes in both time (SDNN, RMSDD, PNN50) and
frequency (LF, HF, LF/HF) domains in each period of
observation (pre-exercise 3 exercise 3 postexercise) was
performed by repeated-measures analysis of variance
(ANOVA). The Tukey post hoc verification was applied
whenever necessary. The same procedure was applied to
compare the results of HR. However, 2 HR values were
obtained for each observation period (HRi at the first minute
and HRf at the tenth minute of each observation window).

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 Flexibility and Heart Rate Variability
Figure 1. Mean values for low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF)
components obtained from heart rate variability (HRV) spectral analysis.
Rest: pre-exercise condition; Flex: stretching session; Rec: postexercise
recovery. *Significantly different compared to pre-exercise (p = 0.02/
effect size = 1.07); Significantly different compared to pre-exercise
(p = 0.01/effect size = 1.24); Significantly different compared to
exercise (p = 0.04/effect size = 0.57). The bars indicate the 95%
confidence intervals.
Therefore, the number of successive measures increased from
3 to 6 (2 for each 10-minute window). Significance level was
fixed in p # 0.05. The Statistica 6.0 software was used in all
calculations (StatsoftTM, Tulsa, OK, USA).
The GPowerTM 3.1 version (Universitat Kiel, Kiel,
Germany) was used to verify the statistical power. The
computed achieved power for the within-group repeated-
measures ANOVA with an effect size = 0.4; a error
probability = 0.05, total sample size = 10, and number of
measurements = 6 (HR values) produced a critical F = 2.42
and a statistical power (1 2 b error probability) = 0.91. The
Figure 2. Mean values for the low-/high-frequency power ratio (LF/HF).
Rest: pre-exercise condition; Flex: stretching session; Rec: postexercise
recovery. *Significantly different compared to exercise (p = 0.02/effect
size = 0.86) and postexercise (p = 0.03/effect size = 0.57). Significantly
different compared to exercise (p = 0.02/effect size = 0.36). The bars
indicate the 95% confidence intervals.
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same criteria applied to time and frequency domains of HRV
(3 repeated measurements) produced a critical F = 3.55 and
a statistical power = 0.74. The effect-sizes related to each
mean comparison were calculated by Cohens d, based on the
respective means (M1 and M2) and SDs (s1 and s2) as follows:
d M 1  M 2 =sspooled ;
where
sspooled s1 s2 =2:
RESULTS
Table 1 presents the mean values (6SD) for the HR and HRV
indexes in each experimental situation. Both time and
frequency domain indexes changed significantly, suggesting
that the autonomic control within the sets and along
postexercise recovery was influenced by the stretching
session. The SDNN increased during the exercise period
and decreased during the postexercise recovery, albeit
remaining higher than in the pre-exercise condition. The
RMSSD decreased significantly during the exercises and
increased in the postexercise period, to levels also signifi-
cantly higher than at rest. There was a significant decrease of
PNN50 while stretching followed by a slight increase during
recovery. However, contrarily to the RMSSD, at the end of
the postexercise recovery its value was not significantly
higher compared to pre-exercise (p = 0.42/effect size = 0.06).
The comparison between the HR measured at the beginning
(HRi) and at the end (HRf ) of each period showed that the
HR increased during the exercise session and decreased
throughout recovery to values significantly lower than those
obtained at the pre-exercise assessment.
Figure 1 shows that the LF increased and the HF
decreased during the exercise session, but no difference
was found between the pre-exercise and postexercise values
(p = 0.09/effect size = 0.61 and p = 0.3. effect size = 0.59,
respectively). The LF/HF ratio is presented in Figure 2.
A significant increase was observed during the stretching
session. During the postexercise, the LF/HF declined
significantly, albeit remaining still higher than at rest.
DISCUSSION
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether multiple
sets of flexibility exercises could determine changes in HRV
indexes associated with the sympathetic and parasympathetic
activity. The main results were (a) The overall HRV was
influenced by the stretching session, both during exercise and
postexercise recovery; (b) The sympathetic activity increased
and the vagal activity decreased during the stretching session;
(c) A 10-minute stretching session composed of 3 sets of 3
stretching exercises for the trunk and hamstrings was capable
to increase the postexercise vagal activity.
The autonomic balance profile is considered as potential
predictor of the risk for cardiovascular disease (3,19). In this
context, the HRV has been treated as marker of para-
sympathetic modulation and previous studies have used this

approach to evaluate the autonomic heart control in response
to exercise practice. It is generally accepted that during exercise
there is parasympathetic withdrawal and sympathetic excita-
tion, resulting in acceleration of the HR. These effects are
reversed during the postexercise recovery (2,13).
Previous researches have demonstrated that muscle
stretching may produce alterations in the heart autonomic
control, which is probably because of mechanoreflex in-
fluence on the differential regulation of parasympathetic and
sympathetic efferent discharges (6,26). The cardiac vagal and
sympathetic responses are controlled separately and differ-
entially by such muscle mechanoreflex. When the muscle
contracts or stretches myelinated group III afferent fibers are
probably stimulated, whereas unmyelinated group IV fibers
are more susceptible to the influence of metabolic sub-
products (17). The stimulation of group III mechanosensitive
afferents during stretching may contribute to the adjustment
of cardiac function via reflex sympathetic autonomic activity
(23). It has been also demonstrated that the cardiac vagal
modulation decreases along passive stretch, whereas cardiac
sympathetic activity increases irrespective of arterial barore-
ceptor input, which concurs with the present results
(6,10,26). The increase of sympathetic nervous activity
would be related to the initial transient of the HR at the
beginning of muscle stretch (5,24), whereas the withdrawal of
parasympathetic activity would help sustaining the tachy-
cardia throughout the later period of the exercise (26). Thus
the HR was expected to increase during the stretching
sessions because of both sympathetic enhanced activity and
parasympathetic withdrawal (see Table 1 and Figure 1).
It is interesting to note that the vagal activity decrease
depends on the muscle length and tension, which has obvious
practical implications to flexibility training. During passive
stretch, the group IV fibers are most likely not significantly
stimulated compared to group III fibers, because practically
no changes occur in the muscle blood environment (blood
gases, pH, temperature, etc.) (31). On the other hand,
successive sustained isometric contractions typical to static
flexibility training may stimulate these receptors (6,34).
Stretching to maximal levels beyond the physiological range
of the muscle length may activate not only mechano- and
metaboreceptors but also nociceptors, which can also elicit
vagal and sympathetic reflex responses (26,35).
The role of muscle mechanoreflex in regulating the
baroreflex control of the HR remains unclear. However, it
has been shown that passive calf muscle stretch may decrease
the spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity because of mechanor-
eflex, metaboreflex, and central command drives (30). The
decline of baroreceptor sensitivity would be enhanced by
local circulatory occlusion after isometric contraction of
several intensities, as a result of different levels of metabolite
accumulation (6).
The HRV can be assessed in the immediate postexercise
recovery period and correlates with the parasympathetic
reactivation in either healthy subjects or cardiac patients (12).
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Studies using selective adrenergic and parasympathetic
blockade demonstrated that time domain indexes would
be more reliable than spectral analysis to evaluate the
parasympathetic activity in a nonsteady-state HR setting
(12), especially during postexercise recovery (27,37). As
aforementioned, the SDNN is considered to reflect both
sympathetic and parasympathetic influence on HRV (32).
Our findings showed that the SDNN at the end of the
postexercise period was higher than at rest, suggesting that
the combined parasympathetic and sympathetic modulation
(total HRV) were enhanced by the stretching session.
The RMSSD reflects the mean changes in the interval
between the systoles, being more directly associated with the
vagal modulation. It is likely to presume that successive sets of
stretching sustained for a time compatible with muscle fatigue
would enhance the sympathetic responses, perhaps affecting
the postexercise autonomic balance. The significant increase
of the RMSSD throughout the recovery period concurs with
such premise, albeit further research is warranted to ratify our
results.
Finally, the PNN50 represents the successive percent
differences of RR intervals .50 milliseconds, being also
related to the vagal modulation. The decrease of RMSSD and
PNN50 during the stretching exercises was expected,
suggesting that a parasympathetic withdrawal occurred
regardless of the increase of sympathetic activity (26). The
vagal reactivation probably occurs early after the end of the
exercise session, and influences the HR within the post-
exercise recovery (16). This premise was confirmed by the
present results for RMSSD and HR, which values, re-
spectively, increased and decreased to levels significantly
higher and lower than at the pre-exercise period.
Although the time domain indexes as SDNN and RMSSD
can be used to analyze short duration recordings, the
frequency domain indexes are considered to be more easily
interpretable in terms of physiological regulation (32). The
LF seems to be predominantly influenced by the sympathetic
activity (especially when expressed in normalized units),
whereas the HF is considered to be primarily a marker of
vagal activity (7) or at least affected by both sympathetic and
parasympathetic activity (27). Generally, an increase of LF
and decrease of HF are expected during physical exercise (2),
and by all means the LF/HF ratio reflects the autonomic
balance in a given situation (19).
In this study the LF increased and HF decreased during the
exercise session in comparison with the pre-exercise values.
At the end of the postexercise recovery, the LF remained
somewhat stable, whereas the HF rapidly increased to a level
similar to the pre-exercise values. The LF response during the
stretching exercises ratified the results for the time domain of
HRV, indicating that the sympathetic activation was not
swiftly recovered (8). On the other hand, the HF decrease
during the stretching session seemed to confirm that
a parasympathetic withdrawal takes place in response to
successive static muscle contractions (8,28).
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 Flexibility and Heart Rate Variability
The LF/HF significantly increased during the stretching
exercises, which was expected because of the sympathetic
activation (28). In the postexercise period there was
a decrease of LF/HF, although it remained still higher
compared to the pre-exercise condition. It has been
previously determined that in the first seconds of post-
exercise recovery there is a rapid reactivation of the vagal
activity, which contributes to a quick HR decrease (15).
Consequently, it is possible that the LF/HF reduction during
recovery was rather because of a reactivation of the
parasympathetic activity than to a postexercise sympathetic
withdrawal.
All these results suggest that stretching exercise routines
may acutely influence the HRVand enhance the vagal activity.
It would therefore be interesting to investigate whether
possible chronic parasympathetic adaptation to flexibility
training could rely on successive exposition to such acute
responses. A sole previous study showed that a significant
increase of RMSSD at rest and after exercise occurred in
athletes, who participated in a 28-day flexibility training (25).
Unfortunately, it has not been yet established if this chronic
enhancement of the parasympathetic activity would be
progressively provoked by regular acute stretching effects. In
such a case, additional investigation would be important to
determine the doseresponse relationships between flexibil-
ity training and changes in the autonomic modulation.
In conclusion, a multiple-set flexibility training session
enhanced the vagal modulation and sympathovagal balance
in the acute postexercise recovery, at least in subjects with low
flexibility levels. On the other hand, the sympathetic activity
increased significantly during the flexibility exercises and
remained higher compared to pre-exercise throughout the
postexercise recovery period.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
The present results suggest that stretching routines may
contribute to a favorable autonomic activity change in
untrained subjects. Because sedentary persons have higher
potential risk for the later development of cardiovascular
disease, they could therefore benefit from the cardiovascular
protection effect of flexibility training on the parasympathetic
activity. From an applied research perspective, these findings
warrant future investigation about the relationship between
the enhanced vagal reactivation following stretching exercises
with possible long-term effects of flexibility training on the
autonomic modulation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank Luis Viveiros de Castro for the technical
support. This study was partially supported by grants from the
Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for the Research Support in
the Rio de Janeiro State (FAPERJ, proc E-26/150.751/2007)
and from the Brazilian Council for the Research Development
(CNPq, proc 305729/2006-3).
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