Effectiveness of active stretching during training for injury prevention and performance enhancement in sports: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Kalani Weerasinghe1,2
, Ranil Jayawardena3, Andrew P Hills4
1Health and Wellness Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka
2School of Health Sciences, UTAS Health, University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia
3Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka
4School of Health Sciences, UTAS Health, University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia
Keywords: Stretching, sports injury, sports performance
Abstract
Stretching, usually done during warm-up to lengthen the musculotendinous unit, aims to reduce injuries and improve performance, but evidence for active stretching (AS) remains conflicting. This review aims to evaluate the literature assessing the effectiveness of AS, defined here as stretching techniques involving active muscle engagement by the individual, defined as stretching techniques involving voluntary muscle engagement by the individual, including both dynamic and active static stretching, in reducing injuries and enhancing performance in athletes. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of AS interventions, including dynamic and active static stretching, were searched in databases: PubMed, Web of Science, and SciVerse Scopus from 2015 to 2024. A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of AS on sports performance using RevMan 5.4 software. Nine RCTs were included in this review. The ages of the athletes participating in the studies ranged from 13.5 to 27 years, with sample sizes varying from 8 to 148 across soccer, handball, volleyball, and resistance training. Individualized static stretching for tight muscles was more effective than routine exercises in reducing lower extremity and trunk injuries. The meta-analysis revealed a significant increase in maximal isometric strength (MIS) by 3.6 N (95% CI, 0.28-6.93, p = 0.01) and an increase of 1.79 cm in ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (DF ROM) in the intervention group compared to controls (95% CI, 0.85-2.73, p < 0.001). AS appears to be effective in reducing injuries and enhancing performance parameters, including MIS and ankle DF ROM, among athletes from a variety of sports disciplines.
Cite as: Weerasinghe K, Jayawardena R, Hills AP. Effectiveness of active stretching during training for injury prevention and performance enhancement in sports: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Turk J Sports Med. 2026; https://doi.org/10.47447/tjsm.0926
As this study is a systematic review and meta-analysis, ethical approval and participant consent were not required.
Concept: KW; Design: KW; Supervision: RJ, APH; Materials: KW; Data collection and/or processing: KW, RJ; Analysis and interpretation: KW, RJ; Literature review: KW; Writing manuscript: KW; Critical reviews: RJ, APH. All authors contributed to the final version of the manuscript, discussed the results, and approved the final manuscript.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to authorship and/or publication of the article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or publication of this article.
