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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05678400

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

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Exercise Therapy Hamstring Muscles Physical Therapy Modalities

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Facultade de fisioterapia

Pontevedra, 36005, Spain

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

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.

Treatment and study plan

Hypopressive abdominal techniques

Behavioral

Both training protocols were carried out in a single intervention for each of the participants assigned to either the HAT or the PNF stretching group. The intervention began with the measurement of hip flexion using the EPR test, and ended with a post-intervention measurement of hip flexion to observe the effects of the treatment. All measurements, as well as the interventions for each of the patients in the two groups, were carried out by the same registered physiotherapist. In order to standardise an order of examination of the lower limbs in the EPR test, the right lower limb was assessed first, followed by the left lower limb. Likewise, the same order was standardised for stretching in the PNF group.

Stretching of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation

Behavioral

Stretching of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation

Primary outcomes

  1. Straight leg raise test.

    Time frame: Baseline changes at the end of the intervention (approximately one hour).

    The subject in supine decubitus. The patient's unscanned leg was kept stretched out on the stretcher by means of thigh straps. A digital inclinometer was placed on the other leg over the tibia before starting to lift the leg, in order to be able to quantify the degrees obtained during the test. The therapist will place one hand on the patient's heel holding the calcaneus to prevent rotation and the other on the patella to prevent the knee from flexing during the test. The examiner shall then perform a slow, progressive flexion of the hip with the knee extended, starting from 0° at rest and considering 90° when the lower limb is completely perpendicular to the examination couch. The angular value is taken as the maximum degree of flexion tolerated by the individual, the moment at which the pelvis begins to tilt in retroversion or when the examiner perceives a feeling of firm resistance.

Secondary outcomes

  1. The Toe-Floor Distance test

    Time frame: Baseline changes at the end of the intervention (approximately one hour).

    The Toe-Floor Distance test was also used as a tool to measure the flexibility of the hamstring muscles. The subject stood on a platform without shoes and with feet hip-width apart. The subject was asked to lean forward, flexing the trunk as far as possible, keeping the knees, arms and fingers fully extended. The vertical distance between the tip of the middle finger and the platform was measured with a flexible tape measure and expressed in centimetres. The vertical distance between the platform and the tip of the middle finger was positive when the subject did not reach the platform and negative when the subject could reach further.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Vigo

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Jan 10, 2023
Registry last updated
Jan 1, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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