Daily muscle stretching enhances blood flow, endothelial function, capillarity, vascular volume and connectivity in aged skeletal muscle

Key points In aged rats, daily muscle stretching increases blood flow to skeletal muscle during exercise. Daily muscle stretching enhanced endothelium‐dependent vasodilatation of skeletal muscle resistance arterioles of aged rats. Angiogenic markers and capillarity increased in response to daily stretching in muscles of aged rats. Muscle stretching performed with a splint could provide a feasible means of improving muscle blood flow and function in elderly patients who cannot perform regular aerobic exercise.