Acute Effects of a Passive Stretching Session on the Mechanical Properties of Medial Gastrocnemius Muscle in Children With Cerebral Palsy

Children with cerebral palsy present early in the childhood altered muscular properties, as soon as structural or stiffness. In the gastrocnemius muscle, altered muscular properties are characterized by short muscle belly length and increased stiffness which contribute to contracture and limiting joint range of motion. This study assess efficacy of an acute high intensity and long-time stretching session of plantarflexors muscle on their viscoelasticity properties and maximal dorsiflexion angle gain. Single stretching session is characterized by high intensity and long time (5 minutes).