Abstract:

BACKGROUND: It has been clinically found that often new military students experienced sport injury after 5-km military training. The symptoms mainly include different levels of muscle ache and myoasthenia. Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) can improve flexibility of joint and muscles. 
OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect and to explore the optical time that PNF on muscular fatigue among new students experiencing 5-km military training.
METHODS: Healthy male new students in a military university were selected and randomized into three groups, who received PNF interventions on muscle around both lower extremities and pelvic girdle prior to or after training, and who with no PNF interventions served as control. The degrees of muscle fatigue and blood biochemistry parameters were precisely observed prior to and at 1, 3, 5 days and after training, respectively.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The significant differences about the degree of muscle fatigue and rate of blood biochemistry parameters (myoglobin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase) at 1, 3 and 5 days after training among the three groups were observed (P < 0.01), in which it increased lest in group with PNF interventions beginning after training, next in group with PNF interventions beginning before training, and the most in the control group. Therefore, PNF can reduce the rate of biochemistry parameters and decrease the degree of muscle fatigue on participants after 5-km military training. The result indicates PNF effectively relieve muscle fatigue after intensive physical training and the optical time is to perform PNF right after the training.