Testing and Treatment Sequence
The 30 subjects were randomly assigned to either the control group (n = 15) or the experimental group (n = 15). Before baseline measures, subjects in both groups performed 6 active knee extensions, with a 60-second rest between repetitions. The first 5 AKEs served as warm-ups to reduce potential effects from multiple AKEs.25 The sixth AKE served as the baseline trial.
The experimental group performed 4 30-second static stretches with a 15-second rest between stretches. Immediately after the last stretch, subjects were positioned for posttesting. Control group subjects remained supine on the evaluation table for the same duration (3 minutes) taken to stretch the experimental group. For both groups, an additional minute was used to reposition the hip and knee flexion angles before the first posttest measurement. Posttest measurements were taken at 1, 3, 6, 9, 15, and 30 minutes after cessation of the static stretching protocol. One measurement was recorded at each time interval.