Title: Differences in Shear Modulus Among Hamstring Muscles After an Acute Stretching
Abstract: The static stretching with both hip flexion and knee extension is often used to stretch the hamstrings, composed of the biceps femoris (BF), semimembranosus (SM) and semitendinosus (ST). However, it is unclear whether there are the differences in stiffness among each component of the hamstrings immediately after a stretching session, either for physical conditioning or rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in the hamstring shear modulus after an intervention of static stretches. The shear modulus of the ST, SM and BF muscles were measured using ultrasound shear wave elastography before and immediately after the stretching protocol. The results suggest that static stretching was able to increase range of motion (ROM), but it was not due to changes in the stiffness of the hamstring muscles. After stretching, the BF showed a difference in relation to the SM and ST. In addiction, ICC for the hamstrings in a relaxed position showed good reliability. These results suggest that stretching exercises commonly used in flexibility training are capable of increasing the ROM as an acute process independent of changes in muscle stiffness.
Publication Year: 2022
Publication Date: 2022-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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