Experiment

Go farther with flexibility    Camille Roberge                                             

 

   My experiment is to find out which of the two stretching methods (static or PNF) will be more efficient in making the joint in your hip more flexible.

 

   The subject of my experiment was an adult male. As a keen runner his leg muscles become very tight and inflexible. But as a person who loves cross-country skiing, his hips must be very flexible (to give him a better push in each stride). I tested all his joints (using tests below) and I found he was least flexible in his hips because his hip flexor muscles were very tight. This is probably the result of the running.

 

I measured the angle of flexibility of his left and right hip flexors by using a protractor. The normal flexibility angle is 120°.

 

Every two days my subject, by himself did the static stretching on his right leg and I assisted him in doing the PNF stretching on his left leg.

 

 Every  two weeks I tested the flexibility of his hip flexors by doing the test below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To test flexibility in the hip flexors, the subject must lie on a table with legs off the table from the knee down. The subject takes his knee and brings it the closest possible to his chest without raising his other leg from the table. The angle is measured using the instrument shown, that I made.

 

 

Lots of sports, for example cross-country skiing, require some amount of flexibility.

 

Picture from:

www.nrk.no