Effect of PNF Stretching Versus Static Stretching on Calf Muscle Flexibility: A Comparative Experimental Study

Abstract

Background: muscle tightness is the most common disorder in normal healthy Indiviuals.Calf muscle tightness is very common occurring condition. Stretching is form of physical exercise in which a specific muscle or tendon (muscle group) is deliberately flexed or stretched in order to improve the muscle's felt elasticity and achieve comfortable muscle tone.Purpose of the study is to compare effectiveness of PNF stretching and static stretching in in improving the calf muscle flexibility.Materials and Methods: 30 subjects (n=30) between 5-22years (male and female) with calf tightness were randomly divided in to two groups equally. Each group consists of 15 subjects. Calf flexibility for each group was measured using the Silfverskiold test. Subjects of A group treated with PNF stretching technique, whereas the subjects of group B were treated with static stretching. Treatment was given for 15 days. Results:The PNF technique (group A) the value of the dorsiflexion is increased at the end of the 15 days (19.86) compared to baseline value (13.07). Conclusion:The both PNF and static stretching techniques are effective in improving the calf muscle flexibility but the PNF stretching is more effective compared to static stretching to improve calf muscle flexibility.