1. Increasing Tissue Elasticity With the Use of a Moist Heat Pack
Blake, K.A. & Bamman, M.R.
Huntingdon College, Montgomery, AL
ABSTRACT
Table 2 – t-test Results Comparing Modality Use on the Increase of Hamstring Flexibility
Figure 1 – Increase in Flexibility for Each Participant
RESULTS
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effect that heat modalities have on tissue elasticity. Methods: Ten students from Huntingdon College in Montgomery, AL were invited to participate in this study. The students were assigned appointment times according to their schedule and committed to the same time two weeks later. The participants were instructed in how to perform the assigned stretching protocol where they are in a long sit position for the entire treatment. They were told to rest for 5 minutes, then they were told to stretch for one minute and rest for one minute, until a total treatment time of 15 minutes had been reached. The participant randomly selected the leg to be used, and then randomly selected the treatment to be performed in conjunction with the stretching protocol. Two weeks later, the other treatment was performed on the same leg. Results: After all treatments were performed and data was recorded, the data was analyzed in Microsoft Excel for Mac version The mean increase in range of motion while using no heat and a stretching protocol was 6.40 ± 7.79, and mean increase in hamstring flexibility using heat and a stretching protocol was 9.89 ± The recorded results show that the use of heat does not significantly affect increase of tissue elasticity. Conclusions: There was no statistically significant (t= -1.22, p>0.05) change in flexibility between pretreatment and post treatment measures comparing use of a moist heat pack and no heat in combination with the stretching protocol.
The data shows no significant difference in the increase of hamstring flexibility (t= -1.22, p>0.05) while using heat compared to no heat with the mean change of 316% ± 443% in favor of heat (Table 2).
As stated previously, the independent variable is the use or absence of a moist heat pack. The increase in range of motion for each participant using each modality is shown in Figure 1. There were three outliers in this data, participant 2, participant 3, and participant 10. The percent change of heat compared to no heat was 450 percent, 1500 percent, and 400 percent respectively.
The data collected showed no statistically significant difference of increase in flexibility between the two treatments. This result shows that a stretching protocol is the most important aspect to any treatment that is aimed for increased range of motion. Using the data from this study, a clinician can instruct patients that they can continue beneficial flexibility training even if they do not have access to heating modalities.
The results found through this study are similar to that of Taylor et at. in “The Effects of Therapeutic Application of Heat or Cold Followed by Static Stretch on Hamstring Muscle Length,” where there was a greater increase in hamstring flexibility while using heat and stretching; however, the results were statistically significant in the study by Taylor et al. The results of this study are also similar to the group that performed a static stretch for 60 seconds each time in Bandy and Irion in “The Effect of Time on Static Stretch on the Flexibility of the Hamstring Muscles” which suggests that the key component of this treatment was the stretching protocol. Because there was not a statistically significant difference of the increase of hamstring flexibility while using a moist heat pack compared to no modality (p=0.28), one can confer that the choice of modality does not affect the outcome of flexibility training.
METHODS
When the participant arrived, he or she randomly selected which leg would be tested first, and then the treatment to be performed was also selected randomly. Range of motion was measured immediately for a pretreatment value, and was measured by a straight leg raise. To measure range of motion using a straight leg raise, the participant was lying supine with the knee in full extension. The goniometer was placed with the stationary arm aligned with the midline of the pelvis, the fulcrum over the greater trochanter of the femur, and the moving arm was aligned with the long axis of the femur to the lateral epicondyle (Starkey, Brown, & Ryan, 2010, p. 428). To flex the hip, the assisting investigator applied manual pressure to the posterior distal tibia until moderate resistance was felt. If the participant could not reach the point of moderate resistance without flexing the knee, the largest angle of hip flexion while knee extension was maintained was used. The assisting investigator applied pressure until an end feel was felt, which will be firm because of the stretching of the hamstrings over the knee and hip joint (Starkey et al., 2010, p. 426). The selected treatment was then performed. The patient was asked to sit in a long sit position while their treatment was applied on the randomly selected leg for five minutes. Then, the subject applied a strong, static stretch to the hamstrings holding for one minute and relaxing for one minute for the next ten minutes. Post treatment range of motion was immediately measured using a straight leg raise. The patient was required to come back exactly two weeks later to perform the other treatment on the same lower extremity, where the same procedures for treatment and testing were followed.
INTRODUCTION
Hamstring flexibility is linked to many injuries and pathologies. Lack of hamstring flexibility can cause general low back pain and lumbar spine pathologies as well as injuries because of the increased tension that the tissues experience during activity. When one is creating a stretching program, a heating modality is commonly added to assist in the increase of flexibility. Some studies that show that superficial heat in the form of a moist heat pack does not increase tissue elasticity, as discussed in “Effect of Heat Modalities on Hamstring Length: A Comparison of Pneumatherm, Moist Heat Pack, and a Control” by Cosgray, Lawrance, Mestrich, Martin, and Whalen. In “The Effect of Heat on Tissue Extensibility: A Comparison of Deep and Superficial Heating” by Robertson, Ward, and Jung, they found that superficial heating did increase flexibility more than no modality, but there was less of an increase than with deep heat.
Purpose of Study
The purpose of this study was to identify the effect that heat modalities have on tissue elasticity.
REFERENCES
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