Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Vishtak, Tetiana
Format: Recurso digital
Language:
Published: Zenodo 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19166328
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866901921107804160
author Vishtak, Tetiana
author_facet Vishtak, Tetiana
contents <p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Context: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">Elite and Olympic disciplines that depend on extreme range of motion require recovery strategies that restore not only passive mobility but also sport-specific end-range tolerance, confidence, and movement quality. Yet the literature is usually discussed as generic stretching science rather than as a sport-specific recovery problem.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Objective: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">To synthesize published evidence relevant to flexibility recovery in Olympic and elite flexibility-dependent sports and to identify where the literature is strong, fragmented, or clinically underdeveloped.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Evidence Acquisition: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">A narrative evidence map was developed from peer-reviewed literature on stretching in athletic populations, sport-specific injury patterns, rehabilitation in end-range-demanding sports, and psychological readiness for return to sport. Priority was given to reviews, consensus statements, and clinically translatable studies.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Study Design: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">Clinical evidence map.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Level of Evidence: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">Level 5.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Results: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">The literature supports stretching as one component of recovery when range of motion is a direct target, but it does not support a one-size-fits-all progression model for elite flexibility sports. The strongest evidence addresses general range-of-motion change; weaker areas include return-to-performance criteria, sport-specific dosage, end-range load tolerance, and discipline-specific management of fear during re-exposure. Across sports such as artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, artistic swimming, figure skating, dance-derived performance, diving, and selected martial arts, recovery decisions must account for technical shape demands, cumulative tissue loading, psychological readiness, and visible movement compensation.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Conclusions: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">The field needs sport-specific recovery models that move beyond passive flexibility gain alone. An evidence-map approach shows that elite flexibility recovery should be organized around discipline-specific exposure demands, staged end-range progression, and integrated clinician-coach decision-making rather than isolated stretching prescriptions.</span></p>
format Recurso digital
id zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_19166328
institution Zenodo
language
publishDate 2026
publisher Zenodo
record_format zenodo
spellingShingle Recovery of Flexibility in Elite and Olympic Athletes: An Evidence Map for Flexibility-Dependent Sports
Vishtak, Tetiana
elite athletes
Olympic sport
flexibility recovery
evidence map
stretching; artistic gymnastics
rhythmic gymnastics
return to performance
<p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Context: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">Elite and Olympic disciplines that depend on extreme range of motion require recovery strategies that restore not only passive mobility but also sport-specific end-range tolerance, confidence, and movement quality. Yet the literature is usually discussed as generic stretching science rather than as a sport-specific recovery problem.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Objective: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">To synthesize published evidence relevant to flexibility recovery in Olympic and elite flexibility-dependent sports and to identify where the literature is strong, fragmented, or clinically underdeveloped.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Evidence Acquisition: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">A narrative evidence map was developed from peer-reviewed literature on stretching in athletic populations, sport-specific injury patterns, rehabilitation in end-range-demanding sports, and psychological readiness for return to sport. Priority was given to reviews, consensus statements, and clinically translatable studies.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Study Design: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">Clinical evidence map.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Level of Evidence: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">Level 5.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Results: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">The literature supports stretching as one component of recovery when range of motion is a direct target, but it does not support a one-size-fits-all progression model for elite flexibility sports. The strongest evidence addresses general range-of-motion change; weaker areas include return-to-performance criteria, sport-specific dosage, end-range load tolerance, and discipline-specific management of fear during re-exposure. Across sports such as artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, artistic swimming, figure skating, dance-derived performance, diving, and selected martial arts, recovery decisions must account for technical shape demands, cumulative tissue loading, psychological readiness, and visible movement compensation.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-US">Conclusions: </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">The field needs sport-specific recovery models that move beyond passive flexibility gain alone. An evidence-map approach shows that elite flexibility recovery should be organized around discipline-specific exposure demands, staged end-range progression, and integrated clinician-coach decision-making rather than isolated stretching prescriptions.</span></p>
title Recovery of Flexibility in Elite and Olympic Athletes: An Evidence Map for Flexibility-Dependent Sports
topic elite athletes
Olympic sport
flexibility recovery
evidence map
stretching; artistic gymnastics
rhythmic gymnastics
return to performance
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19166328