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What is Assisted PNF Stretching

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation 

PNF assisted stretching is an effective technique that we use at Royal Barbell Club and Recovery to help our clients recover from fatigue and muscle soreness. PNF stretching involves a set of stretches and exercises that help to stimulate muscle activity while improving muscle fiber recruitment. Our expert therapists will carefully guide you through each stretch, providing the necessary support to ensure your safety and comfort. Our PNF assisted stretching sessions have been shown to be beneficial for all types of athletes, as well as the general population.

What is Assisted PNF? : Proprioception Neuromuscular Facilitation

Assisted: help (someone), typically by doing a share of the work

 

Proprioception: Proprioception, otherwise known as kinesthesia, is your body's ability to sense movement, action, and location. It's present in every muscle movement you have. Without proprioception, you wouldn't be able to move without thinking about your next step.

 

Neuromuscular: of or relating to nerves and muscles. especially : jointly involving or affecting nervous and muscular elements.

 

Facilitation: application of resistance to muscle contraction to facilitate enhancement of the muscle's contractile force.

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PNF can boost your passive range of motion (PROM) and active range of motion (AROM).

Developed at the Kabat-Kaiser Institute from 1946 to 1951 by neurophysiologist Herman Kabat and physical therapist Margaret “Maggie” Knott, PNF was initially developed for people with neurological conditions such as poliomyelitis. Later on, PNF expanded to treating musculoskeletal conditions.

The PNF stretching technique can also be used by athletes as well as non-athletes to improve performance. Studies have found that doing PNF stretches before exercise can boost performance in exercises such as jogging. However, PNF can decrease performance if done before high-intensity exercises such as weight-lifting and sprinting. 

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Methods of PNF Stretching

When doing PNF exercises, you typically:

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  1. Stretch a muscle group.

  2. Contract this muscle group against resistance while it’s still in the stretched position.

  3. Stretch the muscle group again.

Resistance is usually provided through the help of a partner but with instruction, can easily be performed independently.‌

There are three PNF methods:

contract-relax (CR)

contract-relax-antagonist-contract (CRAC)

hold-relax-swing.

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