EFFECTS OF AWARENESS THROUGH MOVEMENT, A MOTOR LEARNING STRATEGY, ON HAMSTRING LENGTH IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS

PURPOSE: Hamstring length is important for optimal athletic performance, reduction of some kinds of back pain, and good posture. Awareness Through Movement (ATM) is a motor learning strategy which focuses on development of awareness of the body and the process of motor control using a variety of movement activities. Anecdotal reports and clinical experience suggest that ATM can be used to produce dramatic increases in hamstring muscle length which may not have good carryover. James, Kolt, McConville and Bate (1998) reported that a series of ATM lessons did not increase hamstring length. The purpose of this study was to determine whether ATM could be used effectively to lengthen hamstrings. SUBJECTS: 33 healthy college students, age range 21 to 38, who met the criteria of having more than a 15 degree deficit of full knee extension were recruited. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Subjects were randomly assigned to ATM and control groups. The control group (n=15) carried out their normal daily activities while the ATM group (n=18) was trained with one initial ATM lesson, then given that lesson on audio tape which they performed independently at home an average of 3 to 4, 15 minute sessions per week over 3 weeks. Hamstring length was measured before and after the 3 week intervention period using the Active Knee Extension Test described by Gajdosik and Lusin (1983) and using the PEAK Motus motion analysis system to record maximum knee extension angle. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS: The ATM group increased hamstring length an average of 7.04 degrees compared to the control group which increased 1.15 degrees. A T-test comparing mean differences showed this difference to be significant at the p [is less than] .005 level. Pearson correlation of pre-intervention knee extension versus change in hamstring length was r = -0.62. ICC assessments of test retest reliability showed reliability of hip position during measurement and of maximum knee extension angle in the range of 0.97 to 0.99. CONCLUSIONS: These results clearly show that Awareness Through Movement is an effective method for lengthening hamstrings. Those with shorter hamstrings appeared to benefit more and carryover appeared to be good. More study needs to be done to discover the reason for the wide range of variability of response to the intervention.
Stephens J, Davidson JA, DeRosa JT, Kriz ME, Saltzman NA; Institute for Physical Therapy Education, Widener University, Chester, PA, [...]