Subjects in our study were LDK378 instructed to move their right foot back from the wall until they felt a substantial pull in the posterior calf that was just short of being painful. They were asked to maintain this sensation throughout the session either by leaning further into the wall or by moving the right foot even farther back from the wall. The stretching sessions were to be performed between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The posttest was conducted on a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 72 hours between the last bout of stretching. Isokinetic testing Each subject performed a warm-up for 5 min, on a stationary bicycle, pedaling at a comfortable pace of 60 �C 70 revolutions per minute and 5 min of stretching exercises for plantarflexors and dorsiflexors.

The participants were tested in plantar-flexion-dorsiflexion movements using the Biodex multi joint system 3-isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex Medical Systems, Inc, Shirley, NY). The angular velocities were 30 and 120��/s for plantarflexion and dorsiflexion movements. Each subject was seated on the Biodex chair and stabilized by straps, with the axis of Biodex dynamometer aligned with the lateral malleolus and the angle of hip joint at 80�� flexion (0�� neutral position). In the ankle plantarflexion-dorsiflexion test a knee pad was placed under distal femur and secured with a strap allowing for approximately 20�� to 30�� of knee flexion. Also, the examiner ensured that the subject��s lower leg was parallel to the floor to diminish the potential for dynamic hamstring activity contributing to the generated torque (Lentell et al., 1988).

The foot and ankle were positioned into plantarflexion/dorsiflexion attachment with straps to secure the foot (Figure 1). Once positioned, the participant��s active range of motion was used to determine the start and stop angles. The subjects were also allowed to perform 10 submaximal contractions (familiarization trials) through the predetermined ROM at eccentric/concentric mode of testing with speeds of 30 and 120��/s to familiarize them with the dynamometer before the actual test. A rest period of 30 s was allowed between warm up and the actual test, and 1 min was allowed between testing speeds of 30 and 120��/s. Figure 1 Foot position during measurement of plantar-flexor muscles eccentric and concentric peak torque The testing protocol consisted of an eccentric loading of the plantar-flexors muscle group, followed by an immediate concentric plantar-flexors muscle contraction.

In order to accomplish this, eccentric muscle contraction occurred during passive ankle dorsiflexion mode, and the concentric phase occurred during the ankle plantarflexion mode. Subjects received standardized verbal cues of ��hold�� AV-951 during the eccentric phase and ��pull�� during the concentric phase, with instruction ��not to relax between the two stages and maintain plantar-flexors contraction throughout the arc of procedures��.