Nikos Malliaropoulos1, Lena Kakoura2, Kostas Tsitas2, Dimitris Christodoulou3, Alexandros Siozos2, Peter Malliaras4, Nicola Maffulli5. 1. National Track & Field Centre, Sports Injury Clinic, Sports Medicine Clinic of SEGAS, Thessaloniki, Greece ; Thessaloniki Sports Medicine Clinic, Thessaloniki, Greece ; Sports Medicine Clinic, Rheumatology Department, Mile End Hospital Barts and The London, London, UK ; Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK. 2. National Track & Field Centre, Sports Injury Clinic, Sports Medicine Clinic of SEGAS, Thessaloniki, Greece. 3. National Track & Field Centre, Sports Injury Clinic, Sports Medicine Clinic of SEGAS, Thessaloniki, Greece ; Thessaloniki Sports Medicine Clinic, Thessaloniki, Greece. 4. Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK ; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bioengineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts, USA. 5. Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK ; Department of Musculoskeletal Disorders, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, Baronissi, Salerno, Italy.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: flexibility is an important physical characteristic in athletes in terms of performance and injury prevention. Active Range Of Motion (AROM) was assessed in elite Greek track and field athletes. METHODS: prospective cohort study was carried out. In the period 2000-2010, the AROM was measured bilaterally with the Active Knee Extension (AKE) test during an in-season period with a goniometer in 127 athletes. RESULTS: male runners and jumpers had a higher mean AROM than throwers, but this result was not statistically significant. Female jumpers had a higher mean AROM than both runners and throwers, but the difference was also not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: in athletes, mean posterior thigh muscle flexibility is likely to be between 72.3° and 73.9°. Posterior thigh muscle flexibility is associated with performance, the higher the AROM, the better performance is achieved athletes have generally high AROM, and this may be a result of their increased muscle flexibility. The normative values of posterior thigh flexibility may assist in better monitoring rehabilitation of the posterior thigh muscle injuries and be useful in pre-season screening of athletes' flexibility.
BACKGROUND: flexibility is an important physical characteristic in athletes in terms of performance and injury prevention. Active Range Of Motion (AROM) was assessed in elite Greek track and field athletes. METHODS: prospective cohort study was carried out. In the period 2000-2010, the AROM was measured bilaterally with the Active Knee Extension (AKE) test during an in-season period with a goniometer in 127 athletes. RESULTS: male runners and jumpers had a higher mean AROM than throwers, but this result was not statistically significant. Female jumpers had a higher mean AROM than both runners and throwers, but the difference was also not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: in athletes, mean posterior thigh muscle flexibility is likely to be between 72.3° and 73.9°. Posterior thigh muscle flexibility is associated with performance, the higher the AROM, the better performance is achieved athletes have generally high AROM, and this may be a result of their increased muscle flexibility. The normative values of posterior thigh flexibility may assist in better monitoring rehabilitation of the posterior thigh muscle injuries and be useful in pre-season screening of athletes' flexibility.
Authors: Luis Llurda-Almuzara; Albert Pérez-Bellmunt; Noé Labata-Lezaun; Carlos López-de-Celis; Jason Moran; Nicholas C Clark Journal: Healthcare (Basel) Date: 2022-04-28