Muscle activity of the vastus medialis obliquus during squat motion after static stretching of the tensor fasciae latae.
Yuki Ohyama, Takehiko Yamaji, Ena Sato and 1 others
PMID 32184537WHAT IT FOUND
After static stretching of the tensor fasciae latae, squats showed more vastus medialis obliquus activity relative to vastus lateralis and earlier timing in 19 healthy men.
No knee pain, patellar tracking, or clinical outcomes were tested.
Key findings
01After static stretching of the tensor fasciae latae, VMO-VL onset time during squat motion was significantly smaller, changing from 102.64 ± 204.33 ms to 5.89 ± 197.26 ms.
02During squatting, VMO activity increased from 43.01 ± 16.75 to 46.20 ± 17.27 %MVC, and VMO/VL increased from 0.95 ± 0.29 to 1.03 ± 0.31.
03In standing, VL activity decreased from 6.19 ± 3.60 to 5.56 ± 3.19 %MVC, while VL activity during squatting did not change significantly.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
19 healthy men only, with no knee pain or injury, so results may not apply to patients with knee problems. The design was before-after with no control group, so changes cannot be separated from the stretch alone. Outcomes were EMG surrogate measures; patellar stability, pain, and function were not measured. The effect was assessed only immediately after stretching, not over time. The onset time table shows wide standard deviations, so individual responses varied.
Declared interests
The authors declared no financial or personal conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that stretching the tensor fasciae latae prevents knee problems. The study only recorded short-term EMG changes in healthy men and did not measure patellar stability, pain, or function.