INFLUENCES OF PNF STRETCHING ON PHYSICAL FITNESS IN AEROBIC ATHLETES

INFLUÊNCIAS DO ALONGAMENTO PNF NA APTIDÃO FÍSICA EM ATLETAS DE AERÓBICA

INFLUENCIAS DEL ESTIRAMIENTO PNF SOBRE LA APTITUD FÍSICA EN ATLETAS AERÓBICOS

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

The quality of flexibility greatly impacts the performance of aerobics athletes. It is believed that stretching by proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) can contribute to this aspect by maximizing active joint range motion.

Objective:

Explore the influences of PNF stretching on the physical fitness of aerobics athletes.

Methods:

24 professional aerobics athletes were selected, and randomly distributed into two groups with no statistical discrepancies in physical indices. PNF stretching exercise was performed on aerobics athletes in the experimental group, while no training intervention was performed in the control group. Physical fitness was assessed before and after the nine weeks of the intervention.

Results:

After PNF stretching training, the lower limb vertical score in the experimental group was from 6.58±0.19 to 8.20±0.47, and the transverse pronation score changed from 5.95±0.35 to 7.09±0.61. The vertical score in the control group was from 6.44±59.89 to 6.83±0.37 after the experiment; the transverse pronation penetration score was from 5.78±0.37 to 6.58±0.33.

Conclusion:

PNF stretching can effectively improve athletes’ physical fitness, both statically and dynamically, generating gains in range of motion and providing favorable conditioning for overall competitive performance. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment outcomes.

Keywords:
PNF Stretching; Athletes; Aerobic Exercise; Range of Motion; Articular

RESUMO

Introdução:

A qualidade da flexibilidade tem um grande impacto sobre o desempenho dos atletas de aeróbica, e acredita-se que o alongamento por facilitação neuromuscular proprioceptiva (PNF) possa contribuir neste quesito com a maximização da amplitude de movimento articular ativa.

Objetivo:

Explorar as influências do alongamento PNF sobre a aptidão física dos atletas de aeróbica.

Métodos:

Foram selecionadas 24 atletas profissionais de aeróbica, aleatoriamente distribuídas em dois grupos sem discrepâncias estatísticas nos índices físicos. Foi realizado o exercício de alongamento PNF em atletas de aeróbica no grupo experimental, enquanto nenhuma intervenção de treinamento foi realizada no grupo de controle. A aptidão física foi avaliada antes e após as nove semanas da intervenção.

Resultados:

Após o treinamento de alongamento PNF, a pontuação de membros inferiores vertical no grupo experimental foi de 6,58±0,19 para 8,20±0,47, e a pontuação da pronação transversal mudou de 5,95±0,35 para 7,09±0,61. A pontuação vertical no grupo de controle foi de 6,44±59,89 para 6,83±0,37 depois do experimento; a pontuação da penetração transversal de pronação foi de 5,78±0,37 para 6,58±0,33.

Conclusão:

O alongamento PNF pode efetivamente melhorar a aptidão física das atletas, tanto estática quanto dinâmica, gerando ganhos à amplitude de movimento proporcionando um condicionamento favorável ao desempenho competitivo geral. Nível de evidência II; Estudos terapêuticos - investigação dos resultados do tratamento.

Descritores:
Alongamento PNF; Atletas; Exercício Aeróbico; Amplitude de Movimento Articular

RESUMEN

Introducción:

La calidad de la flexibilidad tiene un gran impacto en el rendimiento de los atletas de aeróbic, y se cree que el estiramiento por facilitación neuromuscular propioceptiva (PNF) puede contribuir en esta cuestión con la maximización de la amplitud articular activa de movimiento.

Objetivo:

Explorar las influencias del estiramiento PNF en la condición física de atletas de aeróbic.

Métodos:

Fueron seleccionados 24 atletas profesionales de aeróbic, distribuidos aleatoriamente en dos grupos sin discrepancias estadísticas en los índices físicos. Se realizaron ejercicios de estiramiento PNF en los atletas de aeróbic del grupo experimental, mientras que en el grupo de control no se realizó ninguna intervención de entrenamiento. Se evaluó la aptitud física antes y después de las nueve semanas de intervención.

Resultados:

Tras el entrenamiento de estiramiento PNF, la puntuación vertical de las extremidades inferiores en el grupo experimental fue de 6,58±0,19 a 8,20±0,47, y la puntuación de pronación transversal cambió de 5,95±0,35 a 7,09±0,61. La puntuación vertical en el grupo de control fue de 6,44±59,89 a 6,83±0,37 después del experimento; la puntuación de penetración de pronación transversal fue de 5,78±0,37 a 6,58±0,33.

Conclusión:

El estiramiento PNF puede mejorar eficazmente la condición física de los atletas, tanto estática como dinámica, generando ganancias en el rango de movimiento y proporcionando un acondicionamiento favorable para el rendimiento competitivo general. Nivel de evidencia II; Estudios terapéuticos - investigación de los resultados del tratamiento.

Descriptores:
Estiramiento PNF; Atletas; Ejercicio Aeróbico; Rango del Movimiento Articular

INTRODUCTION

PNF stretching technology is a treatment that can promote muscle stretching, and the body of many stretching hormones is muscle promoting therapy.¹ Many aerobics coaches, fitness coaches and trainers will improve the activity ability of the human body according to the promotion therapy.² According to a large number of studies, it can be found that each PNF technology will be carried out according to the range of motion of the athletes and the operation method of the neuromuscular system.³ Only after reaching a certain time of stretching, can the neuromuscular system of the athletes be transmitted to the target position through the central nervous system, Athletes’ neuromuscular tissues need to contract through various shapes or simple or complex human movements, and finally transmit to neuromuscular pulses.⁴ Long-term muscle training will make the muscles of aerobics athletes become stiff and tight, thus causing neuromuscular impulses to produce fascia trigger points. Some training that exceeds the physiological endurance of soft tissue will damage the sports cells of aerobics athletes, even make it difficult to heal, resulting in soft tissue adhesion.⁵ Only by relieving the rigid area of soft tissue through PNF training can it be improved, This paper makes an experimental study on the flexibility and competitive effect of athletes.⁶

METHOD

Research object

This experiment selected 24 professional female aerobics athletes for a 9-week experiment. The study and all the participants were reviewed and approved by Ethics Committee of Guangxi Science and Technology Normal University (NO.GSTNU21PT16). The specific height, weight and BMI of the selected female aerobics athletes are shown in Table 1. The height distribution of female aerobics athletes in the experimental group is 163 cm, the weight is about 55 kg, and the BMI value is 20 kg/m² about. The height of female aerobics athletes in the control group is about 164cm, the average weight is about 49kg, and the BMI value is 18kg/m² about. It can be seen from this that the physical indexes of the 24 female aerobics athletes selected are relatively close, without obvious difference, and will not cause unnecessary error to the experimental results. In addition, the physical fitness of 24 female aerobics athletes was measured before the experiment to ensure that 24 female aerobics athletes can bear the exercise load of this experiment. The training years of 24 female aerobics athletes were more than 3 years, and none of them had conducted professional PNF stretching exercises before the experiment. During the nine-week experiment, the diet and work and rest of 24 female aerobics athletes were the same as usual.

Table 1
The situation of two groups of aerobics athletes.

Group	Experience group	Control group
Height (cm)	163.870±4.123	164.632±4.467
Body weight (kg)	55.984±6.674	49.757±4.733
BMI(kg/m²)	20.582±1.926	18.684±1.398

Experimental method

In this study, 24 female aerobics athletes were divided into two groups by experimental control method. The experimental group and the control group were given PNF stretching exercise, while the control group was given daily aerobics training. Before and after the experiment, the flexibility quality index and competitive performance of the two groups of female aerobics athletes were measured and recorded. The flexibility quality measurement included the measurement of the degree of the front shoulder, the degree of the back shoulder, and the degree of the straight arm rotation of the two hands holding the bar. The competitive performance index included the vertical split leg score and the cross front wear score.

RESULTS

Effect of PNF stretching exercise on flexibility quality of aerobics athletes

The flexibility quality indicators of aerobics athletes monitored in this experiment include the static flexibility quality of the back shoulder, the static flexibility quality of the front shoulder and the dynamic flexibility quality of aerobics athletes. As shown in Figure 1, it is the effect of PNF stretching exercise on the static flexibility of the back shoulder of female aerobics athletes in the experimental group and the control group. It can be seen from the data changes in the figure that the reverse shoulder degree of the female aerobics athletes in the experimental group was 67.12 degrees before the beginning of the experiment, 79.1 degrees in the third week of the experiment, 90.97 degrees in the sixth week of the experiment, and 96.48 degrees in the ninth week of the experiment after the end of the experiment. During the 9-week experimental period, the reverse shoulder strength of female aerobics athletes in the experimental group increased by about 32 degrees. The female aerobics athletes in the control group had a reverse shoulder degree of 66.98 degrees before the beginning of the experiment, 74.1 degrees in the third week of the experiment, 79.18 degrees in the sixth week of the experiment, and 86.99 degrees after the end of the experiment. During the 9-week experimental period, the number of shoulder reflexes in the control group increased by about 20 degrees, which was significantly lower than that in the experimental group.

Figure 1
The Effect of PNF Stretching Exercise on Aerobics Athletes' Back-shoulder Static Flexibility.

According to the data change in Figure 1, it can also be seen that during the 9 weeks of PNF stretching exercise, the number of shoulder reflexes in the experimental group increased significantly in the 3rd and 6th weeks, and the growth rate was higher than that in other segmented periods. However, the change of the back-shoulder degree of the members in the control group was always relatively stable. It can be seen that PNF stretching exercise can significantly improve the reverse shoulder strength of female aerobics athletes in the experimental group, while there is no significant change in the control group without training intervention. PNF stretching exercise can effectively improve the static flexibility of the back shoulder of aerobics athletes.

As shown in Figure 2, the static flexibility quality of the front shoulder of the female aerobics athletes in the experimental group after PNF stretching exercise and the static flexibility quality of the front shoulder of the control group without any training intervention are shown. It can be seen from the changes of various data in the figure that before the beginning of the experiment, the front shoulder degree of the female aerobics athletes in the experimental group who did not have PNF stretching exercise was 11.92, and the front shoulder degree of the control group was 12.12. After three weeks of PNF stretching training, the front shoulder degree of female aerobics athletes in the experimental group became 19.05, the experimental data became 24.54 in the ninth week, and the front shoulder degree of female aerobics athletes in the experimental group became 29.74 in the ninth week. After 9 weeks of PNF stretching training, the front shoulder degree of female aerobics athletes in the experimental group increased by about 18 degrees. At the third week, the number of front shoulder degrees of female aerobics athletes in the control group was 15.7. At the sixth week, the number of front shoulder degrees of female aerobics athletes in the control group increased to 20.42. After the end of the ninth week of the experiment, the number of front shoulder degrees of female aerobics athletes in the control group increased to 23.9 degrees. It can be seen from this that the number of front shoulder degrees of female aerobics athletes in the control group increased by about 11 degrees before and after the experiment, which is significantly lower than the data change of the experimental group after PNF stretching training.

Figure 2
The Effect of PNF Stretching Exercise on Aerobics Athletes' Front-shoulder Static Flexibility.

According to the change trend of the front shoulder degree of the female aerobics athletes in the experimental group in Figure 2, the growth rate of the front shoulder degree of the female aerobics athletes in the control group increased significantly in the 3rd and 6th weeks, while the front shoulder degree of the female aerobics athletes in the control group was relatively balanced in the 9th week of the experiment, which was not as obvious as the change of the front shoulder degree of the female aerobics athletes in the experimental group. It can be concluded that after PNF stretching exercise, the static flexibility quality of the front shoulder of female aerobics athletes has been significantly improved. In other words, PNF stretching exercise can effectively improve the static flexibility quality of the front shoulder of aerobics athletes.

As shown in Figure 3, it is the change of dynamic flexibility quality of female aerobics athletes in the experimental group and the control group before and after the test. Before the experiment, the degree of the straight arm rotation of the control group of the experimental group was measured. Before the experiment, the degree of the straight arm rotation of the female aerobics athletes in the experimental group was 1.24 degrees, while the degree of the straight arm rotation of the female aerobics athletes in the control group was 1.27 degrees. After three weeks of experiment, the degree of straight arm rotation of the female aerobics athletes in the experimental group changed to 1.14, the data changed to 1.06 in the sixth week, and the degree of straight arm rotation of the female aerobics athletes in the experimental group changed to 1 in the ninth week, that is, after the end of the experiment. After nine weeks of experiment, the degree of the straight arm rotation of the female aerobics athletes in the experimental group with both hands holding the rod decreased by 0.24 degrees. After three weeks of experiment, the degree of straight arm rotation of the female aerobics athletes in the control group changed to 1.21, the data changed to 1.19 in the sixth week, and the degree of straight arm rotation of the female aerobics athletes in the control group changed to 1.17 in the ninth week, that is, after the end of the experiment. After 9 weeks of experiment, the number of straight arm rotation of the female aerobics athletes in the control group decreased by 0.1 degree. Before and after the experiment, the degree change of the straight arm rotation of the female aerobics athletes in the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group.

Figure 3
Effect of PNF stretching exercise on dynamic flexibility of aerobics athletes.

According to the change trend of the degree of the straight arm rotation of the aerobics athletes in Figure 3, after three weeks of experiment, the decrease of the degree of the straight arm rotation of the female aerobics athletes in the experimental group has the most obvious change in the nine weeks of experiment, while the data change trend of the degree of the straight arm rotation of the female aerobics athletes in the control group is relatively flat. From this, it can be seen that the degree of straight arm rotation of aerobics athletes holding the rod with both hands has changed significantly through PNF stretching exercise, that is to say, PNF stretching exercise can effectively improve the dynamic flexibility quality of aerobics athletes.

Effect of PNF stretching exercise on competitive performance of aerobics athletes

There are many standards to measure the competitive performance of aerobics athletes. The index measurement of the competitive performance of aerobics athletes in this paper includes the score of the vertical split leg and the score of the cross front wear of aerobics athletes. As shown in Table 2, it is the change of competitive performance of aerobics athletes in the control group and the experimental group before and after the experiment.

Table 2
The Effect of PNF Stretching Exercise on Athletic Performance of Aerobics Athletes.

Group	Scoring items	Before experiment	After experiment	T value	P value
Experience group	Vertical cleat	6.584±0.192	8.206±0.476	-10.6979	0.000
	Cross prong	5.956±0.359	7.097±0.614	-8.2429	0.000
Control group	Vertical cleat	6.444±59.892	6.833±0.375	-6.4574	0.000
	Cross prong	5.787±0.373	6.584±0.339	-5.0008	0.000

According to the changes in the competitive performance of aerobics athletes before and after the experiment, it can be seen that the two scores of aerobics athletes in the experimental group have changed significantly, including the score of vertical split leg increased by about 1.7 points after the experiment, and the score of cross front wear increased by about 1.1 points after the experiment. However, the score changes of aerobics athletes in the control group did not exceed 1 point, which was not obvious compared with the score of aerobics athletes in the experimental group. It can be seen that after PNF stretching exercise, the competitive performance of aerobics athletes in the experimental group has improved significantly. Therefore, it can be concluded that PNF stretching exercise can effectively improve the competitive performance of aerobics athletes.

DISCUSSION

PNF stretch training is a very effective stretch training. It stimulates the motor fibers to participate in activities by stimulating the human body’s receptors, and then contracts the paralyzed muscles. At the same time, it adjusts the nervous system to change the flexibility of muscles, which can relieve the symptoms of muscle spasm in this form. PNF stretching training was initially applied in the medical field, and this training method can effectively treat the disorders of the nervous system. Use this training method to improve the flexibility of joints by changing the function of muscles. PNF stretching training has also been introduced into aerobics training. Aerobics athletes can warm up before training and relax after training, so this is a very good stretching method. PNF training method can also improve the flexibility of athletes, so as to relax the muscles of aerobics athletes.

CONCLUSION

Through measuring the static flexibility of the back shoulder, the static flexibility of the front shoulder, the dynamic flexibility of the front shoulder, and the related indicators of the competitive performance of the two groups of aerobics athletes before and after the experiment, this paper found that the degree of the back shoulder and the degree of the front shoulder of the aerobics athletes after the PNF stretching exercise were significantly increased, and the change trend of the degree of the straight arm rotation of the aerobics athletes with both hands holding the pole was also very obvious. In addition, After the PNF stretching exercise, the aerobics athletes’ two competitive results, the score of vertical split leg and the score of cross front wear, were significantly increased. However, the change of various data indicators in the control group without PNF stretching exercise is not significant, but there are some small changes, which are not as obvious as those in the experimental group. Therefore, it can be concluded that PNF stretching exercise can effectively improve the flexibility quality of aerobics athletes and help them achieve more excellent competitive results in competitive competitions.

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  08 May 2023
• Date of issue
  2023

History

• Received
  01 Feb 2023
• Accepted
  16 Feb 2023