ABSTRACT
Objective- To study the immediate effect of Short Durations of Warm up and Stretching Exercises on Shoulder joint Proprioception.
Design:-Pre-test and Post test control group design.
Setting: - Inpatient and rehabilitation hospital.
Participants: - A total number of 75 subjects free from pain and discomfort and any pathology in and around shoulder joint are allocated randomly into 1 of 5 groups;
Intervention: - Group A received 1 min. of warm up and stretching (n=15), Group B received 2 min. of warm up and stretching (n=15), Group C received 3 min. of warm up and stretching (n=15), Group D received 4 min. of warm up and stretching (n=15) and Group E control group received no warm and stretching (n=15). All groups received intervention.
Main Outcome Measures: - A Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) Machine was used to move a desired joint continuously through controlled ROM without the subject’s active effort. To measure the Joint Position Sense (JPS) passive CPM was used. Outcomes were measured before and immediately after intervention. All JPS scores were measured on same day.
Results: - Outcome measures for all groups showed that at 2 min, 3 min and 4 min of warm up and stretching, the improvements in the joint position sense appreciation were significant at all ranges/target positions checked. The group which had 3 minutes warm up had the maximum gains, Group A had the minimum gains and Group D had the fewer gains possibly due to the effects of muscular fatigue as reported by the subjects after performing this warm up. The control group showed the minimum non-significance across all the groups.
Conclusion- This study concludes that warm up and stretching exercises improve shoulder joint position sense appreciation.
Keywords: contract-relax stretch, performance, proprioception, sports, and injury prevention