Mathias Simon and Raúl Navarro, students in the Bachelor’s Degree in Physiotherapy and Anatomy residents, recently published an article in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, a specialised publication in the field of sports medicine and rehabilitation.

The article compares two methods of stretching and shows how the use of electrostimulation during proprioceptive neuromuscular stretching helps improve hamstring flexibility. This enables athletes to improve their performance prior to competition and helps prevent hamstring injuries.

According to the authors, “the work stems from an idea that was floating around the Department of Physiotherapy for a while: to assess the effectiveness of combining muscular electrostimulation with proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching in hamstring muscles”.

This is the first time since the Department of Physiotherapy was founded at UIC Barcelona 19 years ago that students have published an article in an international journal with a high-impact factor in the field of Health. “Thanks to this article, we’ve learned how to conduct all aspects of a clinical trial, and we’re ready and willing to take part in future studies”, admitted Simon and Navarro.