A comparison of immediate effectiveness of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Hold Relax versus Suboccipital Muscle Inhibition Technique on Hamstring Tightness in University Students

Abstract

Objective: The study was carried out to determine and compare whether there is any difference between the immediate
effectiveness of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) Hold Relax Technique and Suboccipital muscle inhibition
Technique on reducing the hamstring tightness in healthy university students.
Study design: It was a Randomized Controlled Trial study.
Place and duration of study: The study was conducted at ARID agriculture university and Center of Advanced Studies in Health
and technology (CASHT) for duration of 5 month from December 2023-April 2024
Material and Methods: The study was approved by the ethical review committee of Advanced Studies in Health and technology
(CASHT) institute, Pakistan (CASHT/IRB/2024/40). Data was collected from 44 students by using convenient sampling technique.
The sample size was calculated using the Open Epi Tool. Data was collected by using a Universal Goniometer before and immediately after the intervention. Patients who met the inclusion criteria and gave informed consent were included in the study. According to the inclusion criteria the following factors were taken into consideration. The age of the participants should be from 18 to 30 years, subjects must be having SLR less than 80 degrees, both genders can participate. The participants were randomized into two groups: Group A & Group B. Group A received the Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Hold Relax Technique while Group B received the Suboccipital Muscle Inhibition Technique.
Results: SPSS version 22 was used for data analysis. Improvement was evident in both groups regarding immediately reducing
tightness of the hamstring and the difference found between the two groups is insignificant i.e (p>0.05)
Conclusion: The Suboccipital Muscle Inhibition Technique and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Hold Relax technique
both were found to have equal effectiveness in immediately decreasing hamstring tightness and improving muscle flexibility in
university students.