Acute effects of two hip flexor stretching techniques on knee joint position sense and balance.

Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2018 Aug;13(5): 846-59. Younis Aslan HI, Buddhadev HH, Suprak DN, San Juan JG.

Background: Tightness of hip flexor muscles has been recognized as a risk factor for various musculoskeletal injuries in the lower extremities.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the acute effects of two hip flexor stretching techniques (dynamic and hold-relax proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, HR-PNF) on hip extension (ROM), knee joint position sense (JPS) and balance in healthy college age students who exhibit tightness in hip flexor muscles.

Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated the effectiveness of both HR-PNF and dynamic stretching techniques which resulted in a significant acute improvement in hip extension ROM and dynamic balance measures, with HR-PNF being more effective than dynamic stretch. However, there were no significant improvements in knee joint position replication over time in either stretching group.

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