EFFECTS OF HAMSTRING MUSCLE ENERGY TECHNIQUE ON VERTICAL JUMP HEIGHT

EFFECTS OF HAMSTRING MUSCLE ENERGY TECHNIQUE ON VERTICAL JUMP HEIGHT

EFFECTS OF HAMSTRING MUSCLE ENERGY TECHNIQUE ON VERTICAL JUMP HEIGHT

This study will be looking at the affect of Muscle Energy Technique (M.E.T) to the Hamstrings to investigate whether or not there will be improve vertical jump height. This will involve looking at the main hip muscles which are involved during hip extension. Also taking into account knee extension, ankle plant flexion and foot suspiration. This is because Lombard's paradox stated muscles cannot develop different amounts of force in their different parts. The hamstrings, for instance, cannot selectively extend the hip without acting with equal force at the knee joint (1).

Background

M.E.T is a system of manual therapy for the treatment of movement impairments that combines the precision of passive mobilization with the effectiveness, safety and specificity of reeducation therapies and therapeutic exercise (2). This is used frequently in osteopathy but also in other professions (3). In a M.E.T procedure, an isometric contraction of the chosen muscle is initiated to stimulate stretch reflex which as a result causes a relaxation of target muscle and allows it to increase in length. There are 3 types of M.E.T techniques according to Leon Chaitow;

1.The agonist muscle contracted isometric ally and then relaxed, after it is taken passively towards the restricted barrier. This is similar to proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) which aims to increase ROM off the affected joint.

2.A reciprocal inhibition contracts the antagonist muscle followed up by relaxation and then passively moved towards the restriction barrier. This is more of an indirect work on the muscle.

3.This direct technique is combining the two above M.E.T technique. The final stage of movement is where the agonist muscle is moved concentrically towards the restriction

4) Another major variation is to use is kinetic contraction. The patient starts with a weak effort but rapidly progresses to a maximal contraction of the affected muscle(s), introducing a degree of resistance to the practitioner. (4)

Passive muscle stretching just before engaging in physical activity is a common practice among athletes because stretching is thought to promote better performances and reduce the risk of injury. Convincing experimental evidence, however, does not support these beliefs. Moreover, there is evidence that acute muscle stretching might be detrimental to performances for which success is related to maximal force or torque output. Stretching has been shown to elicit a strength deficit in concentric muscle actions. Found that maximal performance of both knee flexion and knee extension one-repetition maximum (1-RM) lifts declined (by 7.3% and 8.1%, respectively) significantly when executed 10 min after static stretching of the quadriceps and hamstring muscle groups. Similar results when ballistic stretching was substituted for static stretching. Furthermore,reported a loss in isokinetic torque at slower speeds of movement, and found a reduction (23.2% and 28%, respectively) in maximal isometric plantar flexion torque about the ankle joint after the plantar flexors were passively stretched. It is also reported that the loss in isometric torque was jointangle ...