Comparison of the Immediate Effects of a Hypopressive Abdominal Exercise Program Versus a Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Stretching Program on Hamstring Flexibility in Adults With Short Hamstring Syndrome

University of Vigo

Status: Completed

Conditions: Exercise Therapy; Physical Therapy Modalities; Hamstring Muscles

Treatments: Behavioral: Stretching of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation; Behavioral: Hypopressive abdominal techniques

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05678400

Andres TFM

Details and patient eligibility

About

A Randomised Controlled Trial was conducted to assess increases in hamstring flexibility using two different methods, one group of participants who were stretched with PNF techniques and the other group who performed Hypopressive Abdominal Techniques (HAT). Flexibility scores of both groups were obtained and compared using pre and post measurements of a single intervention.

Enrollment: 19 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Participants with less than 75° in the straight leg raise test.

Exclusion criteria

• History of hamstring injury within the last year.
• Pharmacological treatment or history of neurological, orthopaedic, growth or autoimmune disorders.
• Training to improve flexibility in the week prior to the intervention.
• Hypertension.
• Pregnant women.
• Inability to perform hypopressive abdominal techniques.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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19 participants in 2 patient groups

Hypopressive abdominal techniques

Experimental group

Description:

All subjects were instructed by a registered physiotherapist on how to correctly perform the hypopressive abdominal techniques (HAT) in two familiarisation sessions of 45 minutes each before any action was taken. After the two sessions, all subjects who did not learn the exercise correctly were dropped from the study. The HAT training consisted of asking subjects in a standing position to perform a spinal elongation with neutral pelvis and scapular muscle activation for three normal respiratory cycles with slow and deep exhalation, and on the last breath, an expiratory apnoea with rib expansion and elevation was requested. In this session, following the guidelines described in the familiarisation sessions, two series of four dynamic HATs in standing position were performed: dynamic HATs in right tilt, dynamic HATs in left tilt, dynamic HATs in right rotation and dynamic HATs in left rotation.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Hypopressive abdominal techniques

Stretching of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation

Active Comparator group

Description:

The therapist straddled that leg, and raised the other leg by placing the heel on the shoulder. The therapist then flexed the participant's hip, maintaining knee extension, to the point of discomfort indicated by the patient or the therapist's perceived end of range. In this position the leg was held straight for 10 seconds and immediately afterwards the participant was asked to perform a maximum isometric contraction for 5 seconds using the therapist's shoulder as counter resistance, thus keeping the leg straight at the same point. As soon as the contraction stops, the therapist flexes the hip again until a new range limit is reached, repeating the same protocol again. The total duration is 60 seconds, consisting of 4 passive stretches of 10 seconds each and 4 isometric contractions against resistance of 5 seconds each.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Stretching of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation