Impact of incorporating proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching into standard stretching routines on the dynamic balance of athletes with cerebral palsy

Introductions. This study aims to analyze the impact of adding proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching techniques to standard training on the dynamic balance of athletes with cerebral palsy. Methods. The subjects of this study were 24 male and female athletes diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the Indonesian National Paralympic Committee (NPC) training facility, aged 18–40 years. They were divided into a treatment group (n = 12), which performed standard stretching exercises along with PNF stretching, and a control group (n = 12), which performed only standard stretching exercises. Both groups received the intervention 3 times per week for 4 weeks. Dynamic balance was measured using the 5 Meters Walking Test (5MWT) at comfortable and maximum walking speeds before and after the intervention. Results. There was a significant improvement in the dynamic balance test within the treatment group, in both comfortable pace (p = 0.005) and maximum speed (p = 0.014). In the control group, there was also significant improvement at a comfortable pace (p = 0.006) and at maximum speed (p = 0.025). However, there was no significant difference between the treatment and control groups in the dynamic balance test results using the 5MWT at either comfortable or maximum speed. Conclusion. Both stretching exercises with the proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation technique and standard stretching exercises are effective in increasing dynamic balance with comparable results.