Study on the Influence of Stretching Exercises in Increasing Joint Mobility and Muscle Elasticity to 14 Year-Old Soccer Players

Abstract

Mobility or flexibility is considered by many specialists the fifth motor quality (Cârstea G.,1993; Dragnea A., 2002). It reaches its maximum value around the age of 15-16, even later1. Frey, quoted by C. Bota (2000) considers that „flexibility includes joint mobility and the ability to stretch or muscle elasticity”, while S. Macovei (1999) defines flexibility as: „the ability to mobilize joints by the intervention of external forces. The author mentions the following among the
components of flexibility: muscular and ligamentous flexibility, neuromotor flexibility, joint flexibility. The purpose of this study is to assess the level of physical development, but also the level of joint mobility and muscle elasticity of 14 year-old soccer players, based on measurements of body parts and segments of athlete teenagers from „Dunărea” Galaţi Football Club. To determine the morphological
capacities of the 14 year-old soccer players from „Dunărea” Galaţi Football Club, 10 body measurements were performed (height, handspan, weight, biacromial diameter, bitrohanterian diameter, thoracic diameter, chest perimeter, upper limb perimeter, lower limb perimeter, abdominal perimeter), and to determine the degree
of flexibility/mobility, 6 measurements were used (coxofemoral mobility -front view, spinal mobility – lateral view, spinal mobility – back view, combined mobility of the spine and hip joints, the degree of keeping feet apart and Apley's test). Results: The results of the performed measurements underlined the fact that the 14 year-old
soccer players are optimally developed from the morphological point of view. The recorded values were higher than the average values of children of the same age not practicing sports. – Drăgan I. and collaborators (1989). As for the degree of mobility of soccer players, a low level of development of this motor skill was noticed, the recorded values emphasizing the need for appropriate planning to improve flexibility. The data from the individual measurements were statistically processed on the computer with Microsoft Excel, according to the measured indicator.