PNF stretch of the hamstring

Therapeutic Interventions for Musculoskeletal Conditions provides a contemporary, patient-centered approach to therapeutic interventions that prepares students to care for patients with musculoskeletal conditions. Discuss how to apply evidence-based therapeutic interventions with 24 video demonstrations. Learn more https://us.humankinetics.com/products... PNF, or cycles of stretching and relaxation sometimes labeled contract–relax stretching, involve several cycles of stretches (e.g., 10 15 second stretches) interspersed with relaxation from the stretched position. Dynamic stretching involves tensioning the muscle–tendon unit repeatedly for multiple repetitions more rapidly than with contract–relax stretching. As noted, no technique is sufficiently more effective to recommend over another, allowing plans of care to be tailored to the patient’s individual needs and preferences. PNF, when considered solely in terms of limitations in motion caused by tension in a muscle– tendon unit, is a bit of a fancy label for stretching techniques that take advantage of neuromuscular control mechanisms that regulate the muscle tension. The origins of PNF date to a 1908 publication by Charles Sherrington.16 In simple terms, the tension in a muscle–tendon unit will decrease following a contraction of that muscle (autogenic inhibition) or with the contraction of an antagonist muscle (reciprocal inhibition). From this foundation, techniques that involve an isometric contraction of a target muscle followed by passive stretching (hold–relax), a concentric contraction of the target muscle followed by passive stretching (contract–relax), or one of these techniques followed by contraction of an antagonist muscle (contract relax–agonist contract) have emerged.17 PNF techniques can also be used to facilitate restoration of movement control and strength. These applications are beyond the scope of this discussion of motion loss, but have applications in the care of patients suffering from musculoskeletal and some nervous system conditions such as poststroke care.