The increase in tissue extensibility and joint range of motion through stretching has often been demonstrated. However, the existence of an optimal stretch duration has not been proven and the identification of an ideal number of repetitions of a stretch has received little attention in the literature. The purpose of this study was to examine and clarify the relationship of duration and number of repetitions of a stretch and their effect on changes in hamstring extensibility (HE) resulting from a stretching program. The HE of 33 subjects who were randomly assigned to a control group or one of three treatment groups was assessed before and after a three-week stretching program. The subjects in the three treatment groups stretched once a day, five times a week, and either once for 15 seconds (1 X 15), twice for 15 seconds (2 X 15), or once for 30 seconds (1 X 30). A repeated measures ANOVA showed no statistically significant effect for treatment group (P=0.181) or for treatment by pre- and post-treatment measurements (P=0.140), but indicated a significant difference between pre- and post-treatment measurements (P<0.001). The HE of the control group (which did not stretch) changed only slightly (0.9��, SD 5.7), the 1 X 15 and 1 X 30 groups improved more clearly (4.2��, SD 3.1 and 3.8��, SD 6.7, respectively), and the 2 X 15 group's HE increased the most (6.8��, SD 3.9). The results suggest that varying durations and repetitions of a stretch may influence the magnitude of improvement of HE. However, with the relatively low power (0.46) in the present study, no statistically significant difference between stretching protocols of 1 X 15 seconds, 2 X 15 seconds, and 1 X 30 seconds could be found. / Graduation date: 1997

No description available.

Empirical and modelling studies are reported which explore ways in which the central nervous system might consider musculo-skeletal geometry when generating commands for single degree of freedom elbow flexion and extension movements. In a series of experiments it is shown that subjects do not perform rapid, goal-directed flexion and extension movements equally accurately in different parts of the elbow's workspace. In these experiments, movements of 10, 20 and 30 degrees in amplitude were tested using up to five different initial elbow angles. When performing flexions, subjects tended to overshoot targets when starting from extended positions, to undershoot targets when starting from more flexed positions, and to perform relatively accurate movements when starting from the centre of the workspace. Final position accuracy was more variable for extensions. When reliable differences existed for extensions, subjects tended to produce a pattern of results opposite to that of flexions: subjects overshot targets when starting from flexed positions and undershot targets when starting from more extended positions. A model of elbow movement based on the $ lambda$ version of the equilibrium-point hypothesis was used to assess the extent to which the pattern of errors obtained in the empirical studies could be reproduced by a control scheme that does not adjust commands in response to changing musculo-skeletal geometry, but rather uses one single invariant command throughout the workspace. The motivation for testing the invariant command notion was to explore the possibility that motion planning might be achieved without an explicit representation of musculo-skeletal geometry. Predicted patterns of final position errors across the workspace matched empirically obtained error patterns for flexions, but the model performed less well when predicting the pattern of errors observed for extension movements.

Master of Science / Most studies of condylar movement are based on the movement of an arbitrary condylar point. As the condyle is a 3-dimensional body which undergoes complex rotations and translations in function, the movement of one point in the vicinity of the condyle may not accurately represent condylar movement. The aims of this investigation were to determine in human subjects, during open-close and excursive jaw movements, the movement patterns of arbitrary and anatomical condylar points; and whether the trajectory of a single selected point can accurately reflect the movement of the condyle. In 44 subjects, condylar point movements were recorded with an opto-electronic tracking system (JAWS3D), which recoded the position of three light-emitting diodes attached to each dental arch. The primary point, selected to represent movement of the condyle, was 15 mm medial to the palpated lateral condylar pole, parallel to the Frankfort horizontal plane. Additionally, four points were selected along orthogonal axes in the sagittal plane, and four in the horizontal plane: each was 5 mm from the primary point. In two subjects, the mandibular condyles were imaged by computerised tomography (CT) and the lateral and medial poles, most superior, anterior and posterior points of their condyles were selected. The trajectories of each point were compared for each subject for the mandibular movements listed above. Variability in both path form and dimension was noted between the subjects for all mandibular movements. For example, in an open-close mandibular movement the condylar point translation varied in the antero-posterior direction between 1.8-22.8 mm, and in the supero-inferior direction between 4.5-12.1 mm. For each subject, the pathway of each point was different in form and dimension from that subject’s other condylar points for the open-close, and ipsilateral lateral mandibular movements. For the open-close movement, in only four of the 44 subjects were the arbitrary point traces similar in form within a subject; and the tracings of each subject’s condylar points showed, on average, a 3.2 mm difference in maximal horizontal (i.e. antero-posterior) translation and 2.9 mm in maximal vertical (i.e. supereo-inferior) translation. For contralateral lateral mandibular movements, the path form and dimension in the sagittal plane of the condylar points were similar within a subject; however the lateral component showed variability in path length for the different points within a subject. The pathways of the condylar points for a protrusive movement displayed the most similarity within a subject, with an average of 0.4 mm variation in maximal horizontal or vertical displacement between each subject’s arbitrary condylar points’ tracings. The anatomical condylar points of the two subjects showed variability between and within each subject. For these two subjects the trajectories of the arbitrary condylar points moved in directions similar to the anatomical points of all movements except for the ipsilateral lateral mandibular movement, where in one subject, the arbitrary condylar points moved posteriorly, inferiorly and laterally whereas the anatomical points moved anteriorly, inferiorly and laterally. There is much variability in both form and dimension for mandibular condylar movement between human subjects. There is also considerable variability within subjects in the form and dimension of condylar point movement, whether arbitrary or anatomical, depending on the point selected. By inference therefore, a single condylar point cannot accurately reflect the movement of the mandibular condyle, except perhaps for a protrusive mandibular movement. Multiple mandibular points are therefore required to describe the motion of the condyle. In an ipsilateral lateral mandibular movement, for example, an arbitrary point may move in a completely different direction to the mandibular condyle, and so anatomically derived condylar points should be utilised to assess accurately condylar movement.

No description available.

It was questioned whether a unilateral stretching program would induce a crosstraining effect in the contralateral muscle. To test this, 13 untrained individuals participated in a 10-week stretching program while 12 other untrained individuals served as a control group. For the experimental group, the right calf muscle was stretched 4 times for 30 seconds, with a 30-second rest between stretches, 3 d·wk -1 for 10 weeks. Strength determined via 1 repetition maximum (1RM) unilateral standing toe raise, and range of motion (ROM) were measured pre-post. In the treatment group, the stretched calf muscle had a significant (p < 0.05) 8% increase in ROM, whereas the nonstretched calf muscle had a significant 1% decrease in ROM. The 1 RM of the stretched calf muscle significantly increased 29%, whereas the 1RM of the nonstretched calf muscle significantly increased 11%. In the control group, neither 1RM nor ROM changed for either leg. The results indicate that 10 weeks of stretching only the right calf will significantly increase the strength of both calves. Hence, chronic stretching can also induce a crosstraining effect for strength but not for the ROM. This study also validates earlier findings suggesting that stretching can elicit strength gains in untrained individuals.

Objective: To compare changes in hamstring flexibility from treatments of pulsed short- wave diathermy and prolonged stretch versus sham diathermy and prolonged stretch and control and to observe how long those changes last. Background: Heat and stretch techniques have been touted for years. To date, the effect of short-wave diathermy and hamstring stretching has not been thoroughly studied. Because diathermy heats a large area and penetrates deep into the muscle, use of this device prior to or during hamstring stretching may increase flexibility and these gains may last longer. Study Design: A randomized, counterbalanced 3x2x6 repeated measures design. The 3 independent variables were day, pretest/posttest, and treatment mode. Treatment mode had 3 levels: diathermy and stretch, sham diathermy and stretch, and control. The dependent variable was the change in knee extension range of motion (ROM). Methods and Measures: Thirty college-age students with tight hamstrings (inability to achieve >160° knee extension at 90° hip flexion) participated. Subjects were assigned to 1 of 3 groups, (diathermy and stretch; sham diathermy and stretch; control). Range of motion was recorded before and after each treatment every other day for 2 weeks. Additional ROM measures were taken on days 15, 22, 29, and 36. A straight-leg raise stretch was performed using a mechanical apparatus. Subjects in the diathermy and stretch group received 10 minutes of diathermy (distal hamstrings), 5 minutes of diathermy and stretch, followed by 5 minutes of stretching only. Subjects in the sham diathermy and stretch group followed the same protocol, except the diathermy unit was turned off. Subjects in the control group lay on the table for 20 minutes. Data were analyzed using an ANOVA, an ANCOVA, and post hoc t-tests. Results: Least Squares (LS) Mean (± Pooled SE) increases in knee extension after 6 treatments were: 11.3 ± 1.2° for the diathermy and stretch group; 10.0 ± 1.2° for the sham diathermy and stretch group; and 3.2 ± 1.2° for the control group. At Day 15, 3 days after the last treatment, the diathermy and stretch group lost 6.9 ± 0.8°; the sham diathermy and stretch group lost 6.6 ± 0.8°; and the control group changed 1.6 ± 0.8°. At Day 22 the diathermy and stretch group had lost 7.4 ± 0.8°; the sham diathermy and stretch group lost 6.8 ± 0.8°; and the control group changed 1.7 ± 0.8° from the last treatment. At Day 29 the diathermy and stretch group had lost 8.2 ± 0.9°; the sham diathermy and stretch group lost 7.1 ± 0.9°; and the control group changed 1.7 ± 0.8° from the last treatment. At Day 36 the diathermy and stretch group had lost 8.3 ± 0.8°; the sham diathermy and stretch group lost 7.4 ± 0.8°; and the control group changed 2.1 ± 0.8° from the last treatment. Conclusion: These results indicate that hamstring flexibility can be improved when long-duration or prolonged stretching is used and that those improvements will slowly diminish over several weeks. Clinicians should consider the use of long-duration stretch to help patients with tight hamstrings increase flexibility and maintain those gains over time.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.