Biomechanics of elastic resistance in therapeutic exercise programs.

Resistive materials in the form of elastic bands and tubing are inexpensive and highly versatile tools that are often used in therapeutic exercise programs. Unlike a set of clearly labeled hand-held weights, however, elastic bands and tubing provide no quantitative information on their actual or relative resistance. Therefore, the selection and progression of resistance levels when elastic bands or tubing are used is relatively subjective and often is dependent upon the perceived effort of the patient. The goals of our report were to establish the stress-strain relationship of representative samples of elastic bands and tubing used in the clinical setting, establish the fatigue characteristics of representative samples of elastic bands and tubing, and increase the awareness of rehabilitation professionals of the kinesiological concepts of resistive exercises, especially as they relate to the use of elastic-type resistive material. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2001;31(1):16–24. doi:10.2519/jospt.2001.31.1.16