• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.111-119
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• 2020

PURPOSE: In adults with hamstring tightness, stretching is considered a therapeutic exercise that improves flexibility. However, previous studies have reported efficacy of numerous methods, and are inconclusive in determining the most effective stretching techniques. This study aims to compare the outcomes of Evjenth-Hamberg stretching (E-HS), proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching (PNFS), and static stretching (SS), on muscle tone and flexibility. METHODS: A total of 30 subjects were assigned to each of the three stretching groups:; E-HS (n₁ = 10), PNFS (n₂ = 10), and SS (n₃ = 10). Muscle tone of the hamstring muscle, active knee extension (AKE), and passive knee extension (PKE) were assessed by range of motion. RESULTS: After the intervention, statistically significant differences were obtained between groups for muscle tone (p < .05). The post hoc test, showed statistically significant differences in muscle tone between the E-HS and PNFS groups (p < .05), and PNFS and SS groups (p < .05). Post hoc test after intervention, also revealed statistically significant differences in flexibility (p < .05) between the E-HS and PNFS groups (p < .05), E-HS and SS groups (p < .05), and PNFS and SS groups (p < .05). Moreover, a statistically significant difference was observed in PKE scores between the E-HS and SS groups (p < .05), and PNFS and SS groups (p < .05). CONCLUSION: This study indicates that E-HS may be the most effective stretching technique for muscle tone and flexibility, in adults with hamstring tightness.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.39-46
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• 2011

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of three types of therapeutic exercises by applying them to lower back pain patients. Methods : This program was conducted for 30 patients 30 to 55 years old, who visited a rehabilitation center due to lower back pain. We separated participants into three groups with different therapeutic exercises: one with lumbar stabilization exercises, another with stretching exercises, and the other with both exercises. Each exercise was held once a day, 3 days a week, for 6 weeks. We analyzed the effect of these exercises by checking the change of lumbar muscle strength and pain relief. Lumbar muscle strength was measured by AS-Med and pain strength was estimated by VAS. Results : The result of the programs was established according to the following list: 1) Lumbar stabilization exercises and stretching exercises lead to higher lumbar muscle strength and pain relief (p<0.05). 2) Lumbar muscle strength in the lumbar stabilization exercise group was significantly higher than the stretching exercise group (p<0.05). 3) Pain relief in the stretching exercise group was significantly higher than the lumbar stabilization exercise group (p<0.05). Conclusion : This study shows all of the groups experienced higher lumbar muscle strength and pain relief. Specifically, there was higher lumbar muscle strength in the lumbar stabilization exercise group and higher pain relief in the stretching exercise group. Therefore the ideal intervention to improve lumbar muscle strength and pain relief for patients is to implement both lumbar stabilization exercises and stretching exercises.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.11 no.8
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• pp.265-272
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to provide a foundation for the methods of stretching in sports activities. The subjects were normal adults, the applied exercise was dynamic and static stretching and the research methods were measuring the jump height and muscle activity during jumping with subsequent data comparison and analysis. Twenty normal adults were randomly divided into 2 groups, and each group performed dynamic or static stretching. Jump height and the vastus lateralis and gastrocnemius muscle activities were measured during jumping, which was performed immediately before and after stretching. Statistical analysis was performed using an analysis of covariance. The results indicated that dynamic stretching was more effective than static stretching with respect to both jump height (p<.05) and muscle activity of the vastus lateralis (p<.05). Consequently, it was believed that dynamic stretching should be applied as a warm-up exercise for athletes who need to build and maintain high muscle strength.

• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.422-428
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• 2012

The present study purposed to examine the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, self-stretching and functional massage on the recovery of muscle contraction force for muscle fatigue caused by sustained isotonic contraction. The subjects of this study were 45 healthy students. They were divided into transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation group(n=15), self-stretching group(n=15) and functional massage group(n=15), and using Primus RS. We observed the pattern of changes in maximal voluntary isometric contraction force(MVIC) after causing muscle fatigue in quadriceps femoris muscle through sustained isotonic contraction. Maximal voluntary isometric contraction force(MVIC) were greatly increased after transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, self-stretching and functional massage. In the comparison of recovery rate of muscle contraction force for muscle fatigue caused by sustained isotonic contraction among the treatment groups, it did not show any significant differences. However, it showed that each treatment may be effective in recovery of muscle fatigue caused by sustained isotonic contraction.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.43-51
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• 2006

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of static stretching and Evjenth-Hamberg stretching on isokinetic muscle strength of knee flexors and extensors. Methods: The subjects were composed of eighty healthy males without weight-training experience. ROM of knee joint measured active maximal extension and isokinetic Peak Torque measured $60^{\circ}/sec,\;120^{\circ}/sec$ using an the En-Knee. Three tests(Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, respectively) was operated to examine change of each variable. Data were analyzed with a $2{\times}3$ analysis of variance ($group{\times}test$) for repeated measures on last factor by SPSS package 10.0. The data analysis revealed muscle strength were dependent on stretching method. Results: The results were as follows. First, Evjenth-Hamberg stretching(E-HS) was more effective than static stretching(SS) on ROM. Second, Peak Torque of knee flexors and extensors was improved in both methods by each time. but E-HS was more improved than SS. Conclusion: In conclusion, This study indicates that E-HS is more efficient than SS on muscle strength improvement.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.43-50
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Evjenth-Hamberg stretching on the active range of motion (ROM) of the hip joint and the pennation angle of the semitendinosus muscle. Eighty healthy adults participated in this study. The active ROM of the hip joint was measured by a goniometer and the pennation angle of the semitendinosus muscle was measured by ultrasonographic imaging (USI). Both ROM and pennation angle were recorded before and after the static stretching and the Evjenth-Hamberg stretching, respectively. Data were analyzed using paired t-lest and independent t-test at p<.05. The results were as follows: 1) The active ROM of the hip joint increased significantly after both stretching interventions compared with the baseline (p<.001). However, the active ROM of the hip joint increased significantly in Evjenth-Hamberg stretching compared with static stretching. 2) The pennation angle decreased significantly after both stretching interventions compared with the baseline (p<.001). However, the pennation angle decreased significantly in Evjenth-Hamberg stretching compared with static stretching. 3) Reliability data showed that there was a high consistency in USl measurements (ICC=.978). Our findings suggest that the Evjenth-Hamberg stretching was more effective than static stretching in increasing the active ROM of the hip joint and decreasing the pennation angle of the semitendinosus muscle.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.57-66
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to determine the duration of maintained calf muscle flexibility gained in young adults with calf muscle tightness, as measured by increases in ankle active and passive dorsiflexion range of motion (DFROM) after three stretching interventions. Twenty subjects (5 men and 15 women) with calf muscle tightness received the following three stretching interventions in one leg (assigned at random): static stretching (SS), eccentric training on stable surface (ETS), and eccentric training on unstable surfaces (ETU). The subjects received all three interventions to the same leg, applied in a random order. Each intervention had a break of at least 24 h in-between, in order to minimize any carryover effect. Each intervention used two types of stretching: with the calf muscle stretched and both knees straight, and with the knee slightly bent in order to maximize the activation of the soleus muscle. All three interventions were performed for 200 seconds. We measured the duration of maintained calf muscle flexibility through active and passive ankle DFROM before intervention, immediately after intervention (time 0), and then 3, 6, 9, 15, and 30 min after intervention. We found a difference in the duration of maintained calf muscle flexibility between the three interventions. In the ETS and ETU interventions, a significant improvement in calf muscle flexibility, both ankle active and passive dorsiflexion ranges of motion (ADFROM and PDFROM), was maintained for 30 min. In the SS intervention, however, ADFROM before 9 min and PDFROM before 6 min were statistically different from the baseline. Our results suggest that ETS and ETU may be more effective than SS for maintaining calf muscle flexibility in young adults.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.210-217
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• 2019

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). Conclusions: 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.

• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.871-877
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• 2015

This research was conducted to investigate the effect of continuous antagonistic muscle strengthening exercise and Evjenth-Hamberg stretching on the pulmonary function of university students with abnormal transformation of forward head posture(FHP). The results of study subject to the continuous antagonistic muscle strengthening(CAS) group(n=10) and Evjenth- Hamberg stretching(EHS) group(n=10) that was conducted 3 times a week for 6 weeks are as follow. FVC, IVC, and MVV all were shown to be significant in the pre post comparison between the CAS group and EHS group(p<.05), and significant difference was shown for MW between the two groups(p<.05) in which the CAS group showed better effect. Based on the results above, it is considered that combining continuous antagonistic muscle strengthening exercise has better effect on pulmonary function compared to application of only Evjenth-Hamberg stretching.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.273-282
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• 2019

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to provide the effective method for exercise therapy in soccer player. Methods : 30 soccer players were recruited for subjects. The subjects were divided to dynamic stretching exercise combined tDCS (Group I), dynamic stretching exercise combined Sham-tDCS (Group II) of which 15 subjects were randomly allocated. The subjects were given 3 hour of soccer skill and performance and additionally given 20 minutes of dynamic stretching exercise combined tDCS and sham-tDCS for each group, five times a week, for 6 weeks. Their muscle activity and jump performance were analyzed before the intervention. After 6 weeks of the intervention, the mentioned parameters were measured once more for between-group analysis. Results : Comparative analysis of the muscle activity and jump performance between the groups I and groups II showed statistically significant difference. Conclusion : Such results revealed that dynamic stretching exercise combined with tDCS is effective in muscle activity and jump performance. Based on the current study, more effective program is to be proposed for neurologic and musculoskelectal disorder as well as soccer player. Based on the current study, studies that incorporates various combine of variable is required for development of effective tDCS program.