The immediate effects of tissue flossing during active isolated stretching on hamstring flexibility in young healthy individuals

Abstract

Introduction Tissue flossing is increasingly popular among sportspersons for enhanced flexibility in both prehabilitation and rehabilitation programs. Nevertheless, there is a lack of evidence about this compression technique during stretching intervention. The purpose of this study was to determine the immediate effects of tissue flossing during active isolated stretching on hamstring flexibility. Methods Overall, 16 healthy young male adults (aged 18–25 years) of low to moderate activity were randomly allocated to the tissue flossing or non-tissue flossing group during hamstring active isolated stretching intervention. The participants stretched the hamstring by performing 3 sets of 10 repetitions. Traditional sit-and-reach, back saver sit-and-reach, active knee extension, and passive knee extension tests were conducted before and instantly after stretching. Results After the stretching intervention, the results revealed that the back saver sit-and-reach and passive knee extension tests resulted in a statistically significant improvement in both groups (p < 0.05). On comparing the effects of these 2 interventions, the results indicated that the tissue flossing group had a statistically significantly higher score of the traditional sit-and-reach test than the non-tissue flossing group (p < 0.05). Conclusions The application of tissue flossing as a compression strategy during hamstring active isolated stretching has a significant effect on the traditional sit-and-reach test and tends to be better or not worse than stretching without flossing on overall hamstring flexibility.