Post-Exercise Stretching for Reducing Muscle Pain in Badminton Players: A Parallel Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Introduction: Muscle pain is a frequent post-exercise complaint resulting from excessive or unaccustomed muscle contractions. Although post-exercise stretching is recommended as a non-pharmacological method to improve flexibility and reduce muscle pain, many university athletes still neglect this practice. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of post-exercise stretching in reducing muscle pain among badminton players.

Methods: A parallel randomized controlled trial was conducted involving 32 active medical students from Universitas Swadaya Gunung Jati (UGJ) who were members of the university badminton club. Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either a control group (no stretching) or an intervention group performing a supervised 10-minute dynamic stretching protocol after training. Muscle pain was measured using the Numeric Pain Scale (NPS; 0–10) at baseline and three post-test time points within 24 hours. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Mann–Whitney U test.

Results: All participants completed the study. The intervention group showed a significant reduction in pain scores from 3.3 ± 2.8 to 2.0 ± 1.7 (p = 0.003), while the control group experienced an increase from 3.1 ± 2.0 to 5.7 ± 2.2 (p = 0.001). Post-test comparison showed lower pain levels in the stretching group than in the control group (median 1.5 vs 5.0; p = 0.001), with a large effect size (r = 0.74).

Conclusion: Post-exercise stretching effectively reduces muscle pain and helps prevent symptom progression in young badminton players. Implementing structured stretching after training is recommended to enhance recovery.