OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness of a spinal (suboccipital) stretching technique and a peripheral stretching technique.

DESIGN: Clinical cohort study.

SETTING: Macquarie University Centre for Chiropractic Outpatient Clinic.

METHOD: A reliable hand-held dynamometer was used to determine the end point of range of motion (ROM) before and after the application of a treatment. Three groups of subjects were treated: cervical stretch, hip stretch and sham/placebo. ROM of the hip in flexion (straight leg raise) was used as the independent variable.

SAMPLE: Sixty randomly allocated university students aged between 18 and 35 yr.

RESULTS: The two stretching treatments resulted in increased flexion ROM at the hip. Statistical analysis revealed that only the sub-occipital stretching procedure increased hip flexion ROM significantly.

CONCLUSION: Manual therapy of the neck may have a role to play in the treatment of extraspinal, lower-limb musculoskeletal conditions.

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