ARTICLE –
abstractComparison
of the effects of retro walking and stretching on balance and
flexibility Dinesh Chand , Shibili Nuhmani , Shaji John Kachanathu 1Department of Rehabilitation Sciences Hamdard University, New Delhi, India 2Department of Rehabilitation Sciences Hamdard University, New Delhi, India 3Associate professor, College of Applied Medical Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA
Abstract
Introduction.
There is no study done to compare the effects of passive static
stretching and retro walking on hamstring length and on balance.
Objective of this study was to study the efficacy of retro walking vs.
passive static stretching on hamstring tightness and balance in young
collegiate students. Material and Method. 30 collegiate students,
male and female, were the subjects of this research. 15 subjects
received retro-walking (Group 1), 15 received passive static stretching
(Group 2) during for 6 weeks, with frequency of 3 days per week. Length
of the hamstring muscle, static balance and dynamic balance were the
outcome measures of the study. Hamstring length were measured by
measuring active knee extension. Static balance was measured by
standing stork test while dynamic balance was measured by Star
Excursion balance test. Results. All the two groups i.e.
retro-walking and passive static stretching has yielded significant
improvements on the length of hamstring muscle (p=0.000) the outcome
after training for 6 weeks. Retro-walking also significantly increased
balance performance both static and dynamic (p=0.000) but passive
static stretching showed no significant improvement on static balance,
however, 4 out of 8 directions of SEBT (for dynamic balance assessment)
showed significant improvement. Conclusions. Retro-walking and passive
static stretching both increased hamstring length significantly among
young collegiate students otherwise asymptomatic individuals.
Retro-walking significantly increased both static and dynamic balance.
There was no significant effect of passive static stretching on static
balance improvement and also on dynamic balance in four out of eight
directions studied by SEBT test.
Key
words:passive
static stretching, muscle tightness, balance
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