None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The decrease in the extensibility of the hamstrings is very common in the sports field and can affect sports performance since it has been related to muscle injuries, patellar tendinopathy, femoro-patellar pain and lumbar pain due to changes in lumbo-pelvic rhythm . The assessment of extensibility is performed through the straight leg raising (SLR) test and the popliteal angle (PA) test The concurrent validity of these tests was examined, concluding that they are the most reliable tests, since they require a single joint for their execution, they do not imply a global movement as it occurs in other diagnostic tests . Muscle stretching is applied to both prevention and treatment of muscle injuries. There are various stretching techniques to increase muscle extensibility. Stretching is usually performed during warm-up, that is, before performing sports activity to increase joint range, reduce musculoskeletal rigidity and improve sports performance Today there are not enough studies to determine which technique is the most effective The use of electrical current to produce muscle contraction and subsequent stretching offers a series of additional advantages to traditional muscle stretching . It generates an increase in the extensibility of the musculature by increasing the temperature and reducing the pain transmission, thus increasing the sliding of the collagen matrix using transcutaneous electrical stimulation . ¥ It causes a stronger contraction than if done voluntarily, as there is an increase in the recruitment of motor units of between 20 and 60%, it generates tension in the entire connective tissue of the muscles to which the technique is applied . ¥ Prevents relative vasoconstriction caused by conventional stretching techniques. Therefore, the hypothesis of this study is that electrical elongation acts by improving the extensibility of the hamstrings, more than stretches with neuromuscular facilitation.
Interventions
Electrical muscle elongation will be performed using the hold-relaxation technique as indicated in the literature . Two 5x5 cm and one 9x5 cm adhesive electrodes will be used. According to Basas A., the 9x5cm electrodes are placed in the proximal third of the hamstrings, one 5x5cm in the mid-distal third of the semimembranosus and semitendinosus and the other 5x5cm in the distal third of the biceps femoris.
The hamstring muscles will be stretched until a feeling of tension appears on the subjec
Electrical muscle elongation will be performed using the hold-relaxation technique as indicated in the literature . Two 5x5 cm and one 9x5 cm adhesive electrodes will be used. According to Basas A., the 9x5cm electrodes are placed in the proximal third of the hamstrings, one 5x5cm in the mid-distal third of the semimembranosus and semitendinosus and the other 5x5cm in the distal third of the biceps femoris. The hamstring muscles will be stretched until a feeling of tension appears on the subject. At this point, the intensity of the current will be increased until the muscle contraction is produced, while the intervener slows down the movement to generate an isometric contraction. A symmetric biphasic low frequency current (of frequency 50 Hz) will be applied at an amplitude of 0.2-0.3 seconds for 30 seconds. The muscle will then be stretched again to a new barrier. A total of 3 repetitions will be performed.The approximate total duration of each intervention session, e.g. 1,5 minutes. Intervention will be performed 2 sessions per week, with a separation of 3 days during 2 consecutive weeks, with a total of 4 sessions in the lower limb with more shortening. The intervention will be carried out by a specialized physiotherapist in the physiotherapy center of the sports club.To monitor adherence to the intervention used session attendance checklists.
Sponsors
Elena Sánchez Jiménez
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
21 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Semi-professional athletes with a positive SLR test who previously signed the informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
Those who presented lumbar or musculoskeletal pain in the lower limbs, recent spinal or abdominal surgery, subjects who performed a stretching program of the hamstring muscles in an organized manner or who presented musculoskeletal injuries in the posterior region of the leg were excluded
Outcome results
None listed