The purpose of this study was to clarify the time course of the viscoelasticity of gastrocnemius medialis muscle and tendon after stretching. In 11 male participants, displacement of the myotendinous junction on the gastrocnemius medialis muscle was measured ultrasonographically during the passive dorsiflexion test, in which the ankle was passively dorsiflexed at a speed of 1°/s to the end of the range of motion (ROM). Passive torque, representing resistance to stretch, was also measured using an isokinetic dynamometer. On five different days, passive dorsiflexion tests were performed before and 0, 15, 30, 60 or 90 min after stretching, which consisted of dorsiflexion to end ROM and holding that position for 1 min, five times. As a result, end ROM was significantly increased at 0, 15 and 30 min (P<0.05 each) after stretching as compared with each previous value. Passive torque at end ROM was also significantly increased after stretching. Although the stiffness of the muscle-tendon unit was significantly decreased immediately after stretching (P<0.05), this shift recovered within 15 min. These results showed that the retention time of the effect of stretching on viscoelasticity of the muscle-tendon unit was shorter than the retention time of the effect of stretching on end ROM.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the temporal course of stiffness in the muscle-tendon unit after stretching. In 11 male participants, displacement of the myotendinous junction on the gastrocnemius medialis muscle was measured ultrasonographically during the passive-dorsiflexion test, with the ankle was passively dorsiflexed at 1?/s to the end of the range of motion. Passive torque, representing resistance to stretch, was also measured using an isokinetic dynamometer. On 4 different days, passive-dorsiflexion tests were performed before and immediately, 5, 10 or 15?min after stretching, which comprised dorsiflexion to end range of motion and holding that position for 1?min, 5 times. As a result, end range of motion and passive torque at end range of motion were significantly increased after stretching (P<0.05) as compared with each previous value. Although stiffness of the muscle-tendon unit was significantly decreased immediately and 5?min after stretching (P<0.05), this change recovered within 10?min. These results suggest that static stretching for 5?min results in significantly increased range of motion over 30?min, but significant decreases in stiffness of the muscle-tendon unit returned to baseline levels within 5?10?min.

Background and Purpose-Vasospasm remains the leading cause of death and permanent neurological disability in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The objective of our prospective randomized trial of coil embolization followed by intrathecal urokinase infusion into the cisterna magna (ITUKI therapy) was to test its effectiveness in preventing or alleviating the severity of ischemic neurological deficits caused by vasospasm. Methods-We enrolled 110 patients with ruptured intracranial aneurysms eligible for coil embolization and randomly assigned them to embolization with (nϭ57) or without (nϭ53) ITUKI therapy performed within 24 hours of aneurysmal SAH. The incidence of symptomatic vasospasms and the clinical outcomes, based on the Glasgow Outcome Scale, 6 months after SAH onset were assessed. Results-There were no side effects or adverse reactions attributable to ITUKI therapy. Symptomatic vasospasm occurred in 5 patients (8.8%) with and 16 (30.2%) without ITUKI therapy; the difference was significant (Pϭ0.012). Although the mortality rate did not differ between the groups, patients with ITUKI therapy had significantly better outcomes than those without (Pϭ0.036). Conclusions-Our

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the combination of static stretching (SS) and electrical stimulation (ES) for 8 weeks on joint range of motion (ROM), muscle strength, and muscle architecture. Thirty-one subjects were divided into three groups: the SS combined with ES (SS+ES) group, SS group, or control group. The SS+ES group performed calf stretching simultaneously with ES to the gastrocnemius medialis, while the SS group performed calf stretching only. The training regimen consisted of four 30 sec sets of stretching, with 30 sec rest intervals, 3 days per week for 8 weeks. The control group did not perform any intervention exercise. Before and after training, measurements were taken to determine the ankle ROM, plantar flexion one repetition maximum strength, muscle thickness, pennation angle, and circumference of the lower leg. The results showed that 8 weeks of training led to significant improvements in the ankle ROM and muscle thickness in both the SS+ES and SS groups. There were significant increases in plantar flexion one repetition maximum strength and pennation angle in all three groups. For all parameters, there was no difference between the SS+ES and SS groups. These results clarify that 8 weeks of SS improves joint ROM and muscle thickness, and show that there is no additional benefit gained by combining ES with SS in this particular training regime.