Laudner Kevin G, Benjamin Peter J, Selkow Noelle M
*School of Kinesiology and Recreation, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois; and †Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan.
Clin J Sport Med. 2016 Mar;26(2):167-71. doi: 10.1097/JSM.0000000000000211.
To compare the effects of stretching the hamstrings with the ankle in either a plantar-flexed (PF) or dorsiflexed (DF) position for improving straight leg hip flexion range of motion (ROM) over a 4-week period.
Randomized, single-blinded, pretest, posttest design.
Athletic training facility.
Each limb of 34 asymptomatic individuals (15 males, 19 females) was randomly assigned to one of the 3 groups. Twenty-four limbs received hamstring stretches with the ankle in DF, 24 limbs received hamstring stretches with the ankle in PF, and 20 limbs received no stretch (control).
Ankle position (PF, DF) during hamstring stretching.
We measured pretest and posttest passive straight leg hip flexion ROM with the test ankle in a neutral position. For the intervention groups, the test limb was passively stretched with the ankle held in end range DF or PF for their respective group. Each stretch was held for 30 seconds for a total of 3 applications. Two treatment sessions were completed per week for a total of 4 weeks. The control limbs received no stretching during the 4-week period. We conducted 1-way analyses of covariance to determine significant changes in ROM between groups (P < 0.05).
There was no significant difference between treatment groups (P = 0.90), but a significant difference was found for both the PF (P = 0.04) and DF (P = 0.01) groups when compared with the control group.
Our findings indicate that both stretching the hamstrings in either PF or DF improve straight leg hip ROM compared with a control group.
The results of this study should be considered by clinicians when determining the optimal stretching techniques aimed at increasing hamstring length.
比较在为期4周的时间里，将脚踝置于跖屈（PF）或背屈（DF）位时拉伸腘绳肌对改善直腿髋关节屈曲活动度（ROM）的效果。
随机、单盲、前测、后测设计。
运动训练设施。
34名无症状个体（15名男性，19名女性）的每只肢体被随机分配到3组中的一组。24只肢体接受脚踝处于DF位的腘绳肌拉伸，24只肢体接受脚踝处于PF位的腘绳肌拉伸，20只肢体不进行拉伸（对照组）。
腘绳肌拉伸时的脚踝位置（PF、DF）。
在测试脚踝处于中立位时，测量前测和后测的被动直腿髋关节屈曲ROM。对于干预组，测试肢体在脚踝保持在其相应组的终末位DF或PF时进行被动拉伸。每次拉伸保持30秒，共进行3次。每周完成2次治疗疗程，共4周。对照组肢体在4周期间不进行拉伸。我们进行单因素协方差分析以确定组间ROM的显著变化（P < 0.05）。
治疗组之间无显著差异（P = 0.90），但与对照组相比，PF组（P = 0.04）和DF组（P = 0.01）均有显著差异。
我们的研究结果表明，与对照组相比，在PF或DF位拉伸腘绳肌均可改善直腿髋关节ROM。
临床医生在确定旨在增加腘绳肌长度的最佳拉伸技术时应考虑本研究结果。
