Active straight leg raising (ASLR) competence improves with reverse-ASLR exercises and not repeating ASLR exercises

In the Functional Movement Screen (FMS), a subgroup of those with a score of 1 due to limitations in the active straight leg raising (ASLR) but not in the passive straight leg raising is considered to have a stability or motor control dysfunction (SMCD). The FMS proposes the use of the movements in a reverse pattern to improve FMS scores. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the reverse pattern of the ASLR (reverse-ASLR) was more effective than repeating the ASLR to improve the FMS score in participants with the FMS ASLR score of 1 due to the SMCD (ASLR-1-SMCD). A two-armed randomized controlled trial was conducted in individuals with the ASLR-1-SMCD. The intervention was either the reverse-ASLR or the ASLR exercise on both sides at home for a month followed by a 1-month wait-and-see interval, wherein the primary outcome measure was the right FMS ASLR score. Forty participants were randomized to the ASLR exercise group (n=20) or the reverse-ASLR exercise group (n=20). The Fisher exact test demonstrated a statistically significant difference (P=0.020) in the proportion of those with FMS ASLR score improvement to a score of 2 (ASLR exercise group, one; reverse-ASLR exercise group, eight) at follow-up 1, but no significance (P=0.106) at follow-up 2 (ASLR exercise group, none; reverse-ASLR exercise group, four). This study indicated that the reverse-ASLR exercise was more effective than repeating the ASLR exercise in order to improve the ASLR score among individuals with the ASLR-1-SMCD.