In which technique is the stretched muscle contracted with maximum or near-maximum effort for about 10 seconds before relaxing and moving to a new point?

• A. MET
• B. Active Isolated Stretching
• C. PIR
• D. RI

Answer: (B)

This item is about a hold-relax style used in muscle energy techniques to lengthen a tight muscle. In this method, you take the stretched muscle to its limit and have the patient perform a maximal or near-maximal isometric contraction of that same muscle for about 10 seconds against the clinician’s counterforce. After the contraction, the muscle relaxes and you move the limb to a new, deeper point of stretch, repeating as needed. This works through autogenic inhibition—the brief contraction dampens the muscle’s spindle activity, allowing a greater stretch afterward. Active Isolated Stretching uses short, 1–2 second holds and does not involve a strong contraction of the stretched muscle, instead relying on quick, repeated lengthening with often reciprocal inhibition. Reciprocal inhibition techniques involve activating the opposite muscle to help relax the target muscle, not contracting the target muscle itself. So the described approach aligns with post-isometric relaxation within the muscle energy techniques family.