How long should athletes with high range of motion demands stretch? Acute stretching durations for flexibility and performance: a systematic review

Background: Stretching is a common practice among athletes in sports requiring high flexibility, but the optimal duration and type of stretching to enhance performance while minimizing potential drawbacks remains unclear. Objective: This systematic review aims to evaluate the acute effects of different stretching durations and techniques-specifically static, dynamic, and combined methods-on flexibility and performance in athletes engaged in flexibility-dependent sports. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus was conducted up to March 2026. Twenty-three studies met the inclusion criteria, encompassing 627 athletes from sports such as gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, dance, and track and field. Data were synthesized using thematic analysis and percentage-weighted mean changes with 95% confidence intervals, comparing pre- to post-intervention outcomes or intervention groups to controls (depending on study design). Moderating variables such as stretching type and duration were also considered. Results: Static stretching produced moderate improvements in flexibility from pre- to post-intervention (2.97%) and a moderate improvement when compared to control (2.36%), but was associated with small negative performance effects pre to post (-0.88%) and trivial declines compared to control (-0.07%). Dynamic stretching showed small flexibility gains (0.77%) compared to control, and small improvements in performance (0.55%). Combined protocols resulted in small positive effects on both flexibility (1.65%) and performance (0.60%). PNF interventions produced a small positive effect on performance (1.04%) when compared to control conditions. Regarding duration, short-duration stretching (≤60 s) led to a small flexibility improvement compared to control (0.79%), with trivial performance gains pre to post (0.06%) and compared to control (0.48%). Long-duration stretching (>60 s) yielded large flexibility improvements pre to post (6.21%) and a small improvement compared to control (1.89%), but small performance declines pre to post (-1.80%) and trivial effects relative to control (-0.02%). However, the majority of included studies were rated as low quality (15/23), and findings should be interpreted with caution. Conclusion: Stretching duration affects flexibility and performance. Long static stretching boosts flexibility but slightly reduces performance, while dynamic stretching enhances readiness with minimal flexibility gains. Protocols should match sport-specific demands and session goals. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/, identfier CRD42025635493.