Active stretching (AS), Kinesio taping (KT), and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) are frequently used to ameliorate pain and improve the ranges of motion (ROM) of athletes; however, the effectiveness of KT and TENS combined with AS in ameliorating short hamstring syndrome is yet to be determined. In this single-blinded randomized trial, 135 male soccer players with bilateral short hamstring syndrome were assigned to 3 intervention groups—AS, KT + AS, and TENS + AS—through block randomization. Each subject received the intervention twice per week for 4 weeks. The ROM of both legs was assessed through passive knee extension and straight leg raising tests at baseline and the end of the intervention. After the 4-week intervention, significant ROM changes in both legs were detected in the AS (9.5°-18.4°), KT + AS (14.9°-22.4°), and TENS + AS (14.9°-22.3°) groups. Compared with the AS group, both the KT + AS (3.8°-5.7°) and TENS + AS (3.9°-5.7°) groups showed significantly increased ROM in both legs over the intervention period, and no significant differences were observed in ROM changes between the KT + AS and TENS + AS groups. In conclusion, both KT and TENS in combination with AS may increase ROM more than AS alone, and the improvements obtained using KT with AS and TENS with AS may be similar.
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