| This study compared the effectiveness of a warm-up activity prior to contract-relax (CR) stretching to CR stretching alone on knee extension range of motion (ROM). Forty-five subjects were pretested and then randomly assigned into three groups (control, warm-up and CR, rest and CR). A blind tester performed active knee extension pretests and posttests. One experimental group performed 7-minutes of low resistance cycling at 70 watts of resistance at a cadence of 60 to 80 revolutions per minute and the other experimental group rested in the supine position for 7 minutes. Both experimental groups then received eight repetitions of 3-second CR stretching. One-way ANOVA (p < .05) and Scheffe post-hoc (p < .05) statistical analyses indicated that active knee extension ROM increased significantly in subjects undergoing warm-up prior to CR stretching compared to subjects undergoing CR stretching only. |
