Stretch showdown: which therapy loosens tight hamstrings best?
NCT ID NCT07118787
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested two hands-on therapies—Active Release Technique and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation—to see which improves hamstring flexibility more in adults with chronic low back pain. Forty participants received one of the treatments over two weeks. Researchers measured flexibility and pain before and after to find the better approach.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Manual therapy techniques (Active Release Technique and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation)
- What this could lead to
- If one technique proves better, it could point toward a more effective physical therapy approach for easing low back pain and improving flexibility.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed trial with only 40 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The treatments are short-term and may not provide lasting relief.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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40 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Nov 2025
- Finished
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Dec 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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25 to 40 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Patients having chronic low backache having hamstring tightness referred from orthopedic department 2. Patients having lumber disc budge, spinal spondylosis 3. Age group 25-40 years, having pain more than 3 months 4. Minimum 20-degree restriction in SLR unilaterally Both male and female Exclusion Criteria: 1. Any history of injury in lower extremities in past 3 months 2. Knee osteoarthritis patients, knee deformities, discitis, osteomyelitis 3. Patients with injury of back, constant or severe persistent pain, inflammatory conditions (rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, spinal infection lumber spondylolisthesis, and lumber spondylolysis. 4. Any pregnancy, history of previous surgery or fracture and history of radiculopathy or neuropathic pain. \-
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Lahore Poly Clinic, social security hospital
Lahore, Punjab Province, 54000, Pakistan
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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