title: Active knee range of motion assessment in elite track and field athletes: normative values.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  flexibility is an important physical characteristic in athletes in terms of performance and injury prevention. Active Range Of Motion (AROM) was assessed in elite Greek track and field athletes.
  
  
  METHODS
  prospective cohort study was carried out. In the period 2000-2010, the AROM was measured bilaterally with the Active Knee Extension (AKE) test during an in-season period with a goniometer in 127 athletes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  male runners and jumpers had a higher mean AROM than throwers, but this result was not statistically significant. Female jumpers had a higher mean AROM than both runners and throwers, but the difference was also not statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  in athletes, mean posterior thigh muscle flexibility is likely to be between 72.3° and 73.9°. Posterior thigh muscle flexibility is associated with performance, the higher the AROM, the better performance is achieved athletes have generally high AROM, and this may be a result of their increased muscle flexibility. The normative values of posterior thigh flexibility may assist in better monitoring rehabilitation of the posterior thigh muscle injuries and be useful in pre-season screening of athletes' flexibility.
authors.affiliation: National Track & Field Centre, Sports Injury Clinic, Sports Medicine Clinic of SEGAS, Thessaloniki, Greece ; Thessaloniki Sports Medicine Clinic, Thessaloniki, Greece ; Sports Medicine Clinic, Rheumatology Department, Mile End Hospital Barts and The London, London, UK ; Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK.
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Malliaropoulos
authors.affiliation: National Track & Field Centre, Sports Injury Clinic, Sports Medicine Clinic of SEGAS, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kakoura
authors.affiliation: National Track & Field Centre, Sports Injury Clinic, Sports Medicine Clinic of SEGAS, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Kostas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsitas
authors.affiliation: National Track & Field Centre, Sports Injury Clinic, Sports Medicine Clinic of SEGAS, Thessaloniki, Greece ; Thessaloniki Sports Medicine Clinic, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Christodoulou
authors.affiliation: National Track & Field Centre, Sports Injury Clinic, Sports Medicine Clinic of SEGAS, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Alexandros
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Siozos
authors.affiliation: Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK ; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bioengineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Malliaras
authors.affiliation: Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK ; Department of Musculoskeletal Disorders, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, Baronissi, Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maffulli
keywords: flexibility; goniometry; posterior thigh muscles