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Neurophysiologic influences on hamstring flexibility: a pilot study.

B J Krabak1, E R Laskowski, J Smith

  • 1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. bkrabak@jhmi.edu

Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine : Official Journal of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine
|December 26, 2001
PubMed
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Neurologic factors may influence hamstring flexibility, as indicated by changes in the popliteal angle during anesthesia. Further research is needed to understand these neuromuscular contributions for injury prevention.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Sports Medicine
  • Orthopedics

Background:

  • Muscle flexibility is crucial for athletic performance and injury prevention.
  • The role of neurologic influences on passive muscle length, specifically hamstring flexibility, remains incompletely understood.
  • Understanding these factors can inform novel rehabilitation and injury prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential contribution of neurologic influences on hamstring muscle length during passive range of motion.
  • To assess changes in hamstring length under various anesthetic conditions.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective study conducted at an academic sports medicine center.
  • 15 patients undergoing unilateral knee arthroscopy were included.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Popliteal angle of the noninjured leg was measured preoperatively, intraoperatively under anesthesia (spinal, epidural, general, or femoral nerve block), and postoperatively.

    • Main Results:

    • The intraoperative popliteal angle was significantly greater than the postoperative angle (p=0.02), suggesting a temporary increase in hamstring length.
    • Specific anesthetic techniques showed varying effects on popliteal angle, with spinal anesthesia causing the largest increase.
    • No significant correlation was found between pre- to postoperative popliteal angle changes and postoperative pain. Females exhibited a greater popliteal angle than males (p=0.04).

    Conclusions:

    • This pilot study suggests a neural contribution to hamstring flexibility.
    • Further research is required to differentiate the roles of neural and muscular components in muscle flexibility.
    • Findings may aid in developing new rehabilitative and injury preventative techniques.