The Effects of Stretching on Blood Lactate Concentration after Anaerobic Exercise

Blood lactate (BLa) concentration is believed to be one of the contributing factors of muscular fatigue and muscle soreness when lactate is converted into lactic acid. Because of these decrements associated with BLa accumulation during exercise, multiple methods to remove BLa have been investigated. However, the results on the effects of stretching remain inconclusive. Although BLa returns to resting levels within 30-60 minutes after exercise, the primary focus of this study was to further explore the effects of stretching on BLa recovery. PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the benefits of stretching on BLa levels (mmol/L) after performing a maximal anaerobic exercise compared to sitting down after the same anaerobic maximal exercise. METHODS: After measuring descriptive data (age, ht., wt., age), 15 subjects (age 22 + 1 years; ht. 1.76 + 0.09 m; wt. 83 + 15 kg) performed a Wingate Cycle Ergometer Test, on two separate occasions, followed by two different 10-minute protocols in counterbalanced order: sitting or (active and passive) stretching. BLa levels were measured before and after performing the Wingate test and then 10 minutes after the test. RESULTS: The difference in BLa levels before (p = 0.815) and after (p = 0.212) exercise were similar and showed no significant difference (p < 0.05). However, there was a statistically significant difference in BLa levels between the two post 10-minutes protocols (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The current results indicate that stretching after a maximal bout of anaerobic exercise can be statistically significant in lowering BLa accumulation.