Neck Static Stretching Acutely Reduces Blood Pressure Through Reduction of Tissue Stiffness

University of Palermo

Status: Completed

Conditions: Healthy Volunteers; Healthy; Static Stretching; Healthy Participants; Healthy Subjects; Stretch; Stretching

Treatments: Other: Neck static stretching

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07197047

ST-BP 306/2025

Details and patient eligibility

About

Stretching is usually done to improve flexibility and joint movement. Recent research suggests that stretching may also affect the body's heart and blood vessels. For example, stretching may help lower blood pressure, reduce stress in the nervous system, and improve how flexible or stiff blood vessels are.

Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. It can change based on how much blood the heart pumps and how tight or relaxed the small blood vessels are. Stretching may help relax these vessels and support the parasympathetic nervous system. This system helps the body stay calm and controls functions like heart rate and blood pressure. From blood pressure values, mean arterial pressure (MAP) can be derived using a standard formula. MAP represents the average arterial pressure across the entire cardiac cycle, encompassing both systole and diastole, and is determined by cardiac output in relation to peripheral vascular resistance, the resistance within the circulatory system that sustains blood pressure, regulates blood flow, and reflects an essential component of cardiac function.

The goal of this study was to test whether a short session of static stretching of the neck can lower blood pressure and MAP in healthy subjects. The investigators also measured tissue stiffness (how firm the tissue is) and heart rate variability (a marker of how the nervous system controls the heart). These measures may help explain why blood pressure and MAP change after stretching.

This study tested the hypothesis that static neck stretching may reduce blood pressure and MAP either by decreasing tissue stiffness, thereby facilitating blood flow through reduced peripheral resistance, or by shifting autonomic balance toward enhanced parasympathetic activity. Should the findings confirm the initial hypothesis of blood pressure and MAP reductions, stretching could represent a simple, practical, and effective strategy to support blood pressure and hémodynamic monitoring.

Full description

Participants were recruited from the student population of the University of Palermo.

Enrollment: 25 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 55 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• healthy male and female participants
• ≥ 18 years old

Exclusion criteria

• orthopedic disorders
• neurological disorders
• metabolic disorders
• cardovascular disorders

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

25 participants in 2 patient groups

SS

Experimental group

Description:

Neck static stretching

Treatment:

Other: Neck static stretching

CC

No Intervention group

Description:

Control Condition --\> participants sat silently on a chair without performing any stretching intervention