A Comparative Study of Muscle Energy Technique and Dynamic Stretching on Calf Muscle Group for Speed and Physical Endurance on Healthy Sprint Runners in School Level

Backgroud: Athletes of all ages and skill levels use running as a popular form of exercise all over the world. The calf muscle complex is primarily responsible for propulsion during running gait. The gastrocnemius appears to be vulnerable to injury because of the strong stresses generated in this muscle during the push-off phase of running. According to reports, up to 30% of running-related injuries occur in the calf muscle region each year. Furthermore, lower leg soreness, gastrocnemius pain or strain, calf pain, calf spasm, and Achilles tendon injuries have all been reported as symptoms of calf injuries.
Aims of The Study: Aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of MET and Dynamic Stretching on calf muscle group for speed and physical endurance on healthy sprint runners in school level
Methods: Thirty-two subjects were divided into two groups. Group-A received Muscle energy technique (n=16) and Group-B trained with Dynamic stretching (n=16). Both groups received training of 5 sessions per week for 6 weeks. Outcomes were assessed by Bruce treadmill test and 40-yard sprint test before and after treatment.
Results: The study shows statistically significant improvement (p<0.05) in both groups for all the outcomes. After 6 weeks of training period, the group trained with muscle energy technique scored significantly higher in improving the endurance and speed than the group trained with dynamic stretching when the pre & post test values of Bruce treadmill Test and 40 yard sprint test were statistically analyzed using an independent ‘t’ test.
Conclusions: Muscle energy technique was found to be much effective in improving the endurance and speed of sprint runners with improving flexibility of calf muscles than dynamic stretching technique.

Muscle Energy Technique, Dynamic Stretching, Endurance, Speed, Flexibility, Calf muscles; Bruce Treadmill Test, 40 Yard Sprint Test.

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