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Repeated passive stretching: acute effect on the passive muscle moment and extensibility of short hamstrings
J P Halbertsma1, I Mulder, L N Göeken
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University Hospital Groningen, The Netherlands.
Objective:
To examine the response of short hamstring muscles to repeated passive stretching.
Design:
A repeated measures design.
Setting:
A university laboratory for human movement analysis in a department of rehabilitation.
Subjects:
Students (7 men, 10 women) from the Department of Human Movement Sciences.
Main Outcome Measures:
The lift force, range of motion, pelvic-femoral angle, first sensation of pain, and electromyogram of the hamstrings were measured.
Results:
Comparison of the data of the test group (n = 17) after five successive passive stretch tests by means of an instrumental straight-leg raising test showed no significant change of the variables passive muscle stiffness and extensibility (p>.05).
Conclusion:
The acute effect of repeated passive stretching of short hamstring muscles is negligible. With an instrumental straight-leg raising test, the relevant muscle variables can be examined noninvasively.