When all relevant studies are examined in toto, the results
of the present review seem to largely agree with previous
suggestions that acute static stretching can reduce maximal
muscle performance (63,70,89,116). Forty-four percent of
all variables included in our analyses (144 findings) from
106 studies showed significant reductions in maximal
strength-, power-, or speed-dependent performance. How ever, a more detailed examination reveals clear evidence that
no performance decrements in strength-, power-, or speed dependent tasks occur when total stretch durations are G45 s.
Furthermore, there is only a moderate effect of stretch for
durations 960 s. We found there to be only minor differences
in the effect across muscle contraction modes or muscle groups and no substantial effect of movement velocity.