title: Tightness of hamstring- and psoas major muscles. A prospective study of back pain in young men during their military service.
abstract: Muscular tightness and the therapeutic effect of stretching has been widely discussed during the last few years in sports training and physiotherapy. Within a prospective study of back function and pain before and after compulsory military service, tightness of hamstring- and psoas muscles was assessed. Around 600 young men were examined three times over a period of four years. Tight hamstring muscles were found to be very common in this group. Only 43% of the right and 35% of the left legs reached an angle of at least 80 degrees from the couch during the straight-leg-raising test (Lasegue's test). The test of muscular tightness showed a significant test-retest reliability over all examinations. Tight hamstring- or psoas muscles could not be shown to correlate to current back pain or to the incidence of back pain during the follow-up period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Hellsing
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001416:Back Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D009132:Muscles / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010388:Pelvis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013848:Thigh