Publications
Comparison of the immediate effect of hamstring stretching techniques on hamstring muscle range of motion, pressure pain threshold and muscle tone
Authors: June-Su Yua 1, Won-Seob Shin 1, 2
Affiliations:
- Department of Physical Therapy, Graduate School of Health and Medicine, Daejeon University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
- Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health and Medical Science, Daejeon University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
Journal: Journal of Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science - December 2019, 8:210-7 (DOI: 10.14474/ptrs.2019.8.4.210)
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Field & Applications:
- Medical
- Physiotherapy
- Treatment evaluation
Objective: This study was conducted to compare the immediate effect of hamstring stretching techniques of static stretching, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) hold-relax and PNF irradiation on the hamstring muscle.
Design: Three-group pretest-posttest design.
Methods: Fifty-one subjects with shortened hamstrings were randomly assigned to the static stretching group (n=17), PNF hold-relax group (n=17), and the PNF irradiation group (n=17). All subjects performed an active knee extension (AKE) test to assess for the lower extremity with a shortened hamstring. The static stretching group performed stretches by lifting their leg to the maximum extent (3 times, 30 seconds). The PNF hold-relax group performed maximal isometric contraction against the experimenter’s resistance (3 times, 10 seconds). The PNF irradiation group performed maximum isometric contraction against the experimenter’s resistance toward the direction of the body (5 times, 5 seconds). The pre and post-tests measured range of motion (ROM), pressure pain thresholds (PPT) and muscle tone.
Results: There were significant differences in ROM and PPT between pre and post intervention in each group (p<0.05). There was a significant difference only in the ROM among groups (p<0.05). Post-hoc analysis showed that the changes in ROM occurred in the order of the PNF hold-relax group, static stretching group and PNF irradiation group (p<0.05).
Keywords : Hamstring muscle, Irradiation, Range of motion, Static stretching
The findings of this study suggest that the PNF irradiation technique may improve ROM and may be used to improve ROM similar to other stretching techniques. Therefore, the PNF irradiation technique could be included in stretching programs and can be used as a suitable stretching method depending on the situation.