Comparison Between the Effects of Transfer Energy Capacitive and Resistive Therapy and Therapeutic Ultrasound on Hamstring Muscle Shortness in Male Athletes: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Transfer energy capacitive and resistive (TECAR) therapy (TT) is a newly developed deep heating therapy that can generate heat within tissues through high-frequency wave stimulation. Compared to conventional physiotherapy methods, the application of TT especially in sports rehabilitation is becoming more popular. This study aimed to investigate the comparative effect of TT and therapeutic ultrasound (US) on hamstring muscle shortness. Additionally, the effects of TT with static stretching (SS) were compared with US combined with SS.

Totally, 39 male athletes with hamstring shortness were randomly assigned into three groups: A, B, and C. Group A received 15 minutes of TT plus SS, while Group B received 15 minutes of US with SS, and Group C only performed SS. Hamstring flexibility was measured by active knee extension (AKE), passive knee extension (PKE), and the sit and Reach (SR) tests before the intervention, and following the first, and third treatment sessions.

The range of motion of the AKE and PKE, and displacement range in the SR test improved significantly after the first and third sessions in all three groups (P<0.0001). The improvement of the three flexibility indices in the TT group was greater than in the other two groups.

The present study showed that TT could increase the flexibility of hamstring muscles more than US therapy. However, TT in combination with SS had a similar effect to SS alone.