Incremental effects of passive stretching added to device-based massage on lower-limb range of motion and neuromuscular response in sedentary adults

Prolonged sitting restricts lower-limb joint mobility, and conventional device-based massage has limited capacity to expand joint range of motion (ROM). This study examined whether adding a passive stretching module to device-based massage produces additional immediate lower-limb improvements. Forty-one sedentary adults were randomly assigned to two groups: the main group completed conventional massage (CON) followed, in a fixed order, by passive-stretch massage (PST), while an independent control group repeated CON twice. The PST phase produced significantly greater immediate incremental ROM gains than repeated CON across hip flexion, abduction, extension and knee flexion. Target-muscle %MVC remained below 5% throughout PST, with iEMG 62–79% lower than CON and subjective ratings indicated positive relaxation, flexibility improvement and willingness to continue use. These immediate, single-session findings offer preliminary support for integrating passive stretching into device-based massage systems; long-term effects and practical application value warrant further investigation.