Galley Proof 20/06/2019; 16:28 File: bmr–1-bmr170878.tex; BOKCTP/xjm p. 1 Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation -1 (2019) 1–6 1 DOI 10.3233/BMR-170878 IOS Press The immediate effect of neurodynamic techniques on jumping performance: A randomised double-blind study Cihan C. Aksoy a , Vedat Kurt a,∗ , ˙ Ismail Okur a , Ferruh Taspınar b and Betül Taspinar b a Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Health Sciences Faculty, Kutahya Health Science University, Evliya Celebi Campus, 43444 Kutahya, Turkey b Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Health Sciences Faculty, Izmir Democracy University, Izmir, Turkey Abstract. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Neurodynamic techniques are used to restore neural functions. However, there are few studies about the effects on performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the immediate effects on vertical jumping (VJ) and horizontal jumping (HJ) of 2 different tension loading techniques applied to young adults. MATERIAL AND METHOD: In this randomised double-blind study, a total of 68 participants with a mean age of 21.31 ± 1.21 years were separated into 2 groups using the closed envelope system: the femoral nerve mobilization (FNM) group and the sciatic nerve mobilization (SNM) group. The FNM and SNM techniques were applied as 2 seconds stretching with 2 seconds resting for 10 repetitions. The VJ and HJ performance of the participants was evaluated before and after the interventions by a researcher blinded to the groups. RESULTS: The mean VJ performance before and after interventions was measured as 34.56 ± 7.80 cm and 35.89 ± 8.15 cm in the FNM group (p< 0.05) and 31.74 ± 8.31 cm and 32.76 ± 8.45 cm in the SNM group (p< 0.05). The effects of the techniques on HJ performance were not statistically significant (p> 0.05). There was no superiority between the techniques (p> 0.05). CONCLUSION: The neurodynamic techniques were found to provide an immediate increase in VJ performance. Neurodynamic techniques are generally used in patient populations to improve treatment outcomes. According to these study results, neurody- namic techniques can be safely used to provide an immediate increase in performances of individuals with no lower extremity problems. Keywords: Neurodynamics, vertical jump, horizontal jump, performance 1. Introduction 1 Due to the viscoelastic structure, peripheral nerves 2 have the characteristics of movement and flexibility 3 as is found in muscles. Therefore, nerves exposed to 4 different mechanical events may be able to adapt [1]. 5 These characteristics are used for therapeutic pur- 6 * Corresponding author: Vedat Kurt, Department of Physiother- apy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kutahya Health Science University, 43444 Kutahya, Turkey. Tel.: +90 553 3813177; Fax: +90 274 2652191; E-mail: vedat_kurt43@hotmail.com. poses for the protection and improvement of neural 7 functions [2–4]. Manual treatment approaches applied 8 to restore plasticity with the pathway through which 9 movement is formed in neural tissue are known as neu- 10 rodynamic techniques [5,6]. The main aim of these 11 techniques is to regulate the neurodynamic balance 12 by reducing the intrinsic pressure of the neural tis- 13 sue [5,6]. 14 Neurodynamic techniques have been used since the 15 1980s in addition to traditional treatments for muscu- 16 loskeletal system problems. Previous studies have re- 17 ported that neurodynamic techniques have physiolog- 18 ISSN 1053-8127/19/$35.00 c  2019 – IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved uncorrected proof version