"...chiropractic patients had 200% greater immune competence than those who had not recieved chiropractic care, and 400% greater immune competence than those with cancer or other serious disease."

Ronald Pero, PhD, Chief of cancer prevention research at New York's Preventive Medical Institute

Stretching vs. Manipulation for Hamstring

For athletes, as well as the amateur sports enthusiast, stretching before and after a game, run or swim can aid in
performance and protect the body from injury. One of the more commonly strained muscles in the body is the hamstring. In
a recent clinical study, researchers compared the effects of both stretching and sacroiliac joint manipulation on the
hamstring muscle.

As part of the three-week trial, 15 volunteers who passed the initial criteria and had a passive straight leg raise (SLR) less
than or equal to 70 degrees were randomly divided into either the stretching or stretching/manipulation group. Both groups
participated in a stretching exercise two times a day and were tested twice a week using the passive SLR and back saver sit
and reach (BSSR) tests. During the testing portions, the manipulation group also received bilateral sacroiliac joint
manipulations. A final test was performed one week after the trial ended.

In the end, although members of both groups saw positive results, the manipulation group saw a greater benefit, as shown
by both test results. The participants who received both treatments saw a mean change of almost 11 degrees in the left leg
and close to 9 degrees in the right leg in the SLR test over the stretching group. The BSSR test results only showed a little
over 1cm change for the right leg and less than 0.5cm improvement for the left leg over the stretching group. Although the
results showed a greater improvement for the group that combined stretching and manipulation, the researchers feel more
testing must be conducted to confirm that manipulation has a greater effect.

Resource:
Fox M. Effect on hamstring flexibility of hamstring stretching compared to hamstring stretching and sacroiliac joint
manipulation. Clinical Chiropractic 2006;9:21-32