Immediate effects of static and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching of hamstring muscles on straight leg raise, craniovertebral angle, and cervical spine range of motion in neck pain patients with hamstring tightness: A prospective randomized controlled trial
Affiliations: [a] Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, Korea | [b] Pharma and Bio Pharma Industry Team, Department of Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharmaceutical Industry, Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Cheongju-si, Korea | [c] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul, Korea | [d] Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health and Environmental Science, College of Health Science, Korea University, Seoul, Korea
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Hyeong-Dong Kim, %****␣bmr-35-bmr201840_temp.tex␣Line␣125␣**** Department of Physical Therapy and School of Health and Environmental Science, College of Health Science, Korea University, Hana Science Building B, Korea University, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul, 136-701, Korea. Tel.: +82 2 3290 5690; Fax: +82 2 940 2830; E-mail: hdkimx1234@daum.net.
Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The cranio-cervical flexion exercise and sub-occipital muscle inhibition technique have been used to improve a forward head posture among neck pain patients with straight leg raise (SLR) limitation. However, little is known about the cranio-vertebral angle (CVA) and cervical spine range of motion (CROM) after applying stretching methods to the hamstring muscle. OBJECTIVE:To compare the immediate effects of static stretching and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching on SLR, CVA, and CROM in neck pain patients with hamstring tightness. METHODS: 64 subjects were randomly allocated to the static stretching (n1= 32) or proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (n2= 32) stretching group. The SLR test was performed to measure the hamstring muscle’s flexibility and tightness between the two groups, with CROM and CVA also being measured. The paired t-test was used to compare all the variables within each group before and after the intervention. The independent t-test was used to compare the two groups before and after the stretching exercise. RESULTS: There were no between-group effects for any outcome variables (P> 0.05). However, all SLR, CVA, and CROM outcome variables were significantly improved within-group (P< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There were no between-group effects for any outcome variable; however, SLR, CVA, and CROM significantly improved within-group after the one-session intervention in neck pain patients with hamstring tightness.
Keywords: Hamstring flexibility, neck pain, range of motion, straight leg raise limitation, stretching methods
