OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relative effectiveness of standing and supine hamstring stretching in increasing hamstring flexibility as measured by increasing range of motion at the knee. DESIGN AND SETTING: The trial was randomized, and the setting was local academic physical therapy and physical therapist assistant programs. SUBJECTS: Twenty-nine healthy subjects who exhibited limited hamstring muscle flexibility bilaterally (22 women, 7 men, 25.9 +/- 6.13 years of age) volunteered to participate in this study. Subjects were randomly assigned a different stretch for each leg. Each leg was stretched 3 days per week for 3 weeks (3x30 seconds). Stretching sessions were supervised. MEASUREMENTS: We measured supine active knee extension. Measurements were taken before and after the 3-week stretching phase by the same investigator, who was blind to limb assignment. We calculated a 2-way mixed-design analysis of variance and Tukey Honestly Significant Difference post hoc tests to analyze data. An independent t test was performed to determine whether the change scores in the stretching groups differed by sex. RESULTS: Prestretching and poststretching measurements were significantly different for both the standing and supine stretch (< 0.05). No significant difference (p > 0.05) in change score existed between the 2 stretches or between the sexes. CONCLUSIONS: The standing and supine hamstring stretches were comparably effective in improving flexibility.

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