Date of Award

Spring 5-1-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Athletic Training

Department

Applied Medicine and Rehabilitation

Abstract

Context: Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) and massage therapy are manual techniques that claim to be able to increase blood flow to treated areas. There are no studies on human subjects that have directly investigated the effects of IASTM on blood flow. Objective: To compare the effects of Graston Technique (GT) and Massage therapy on calf blood flow, using skin temperature measures (a valid, indirect measureof blood flow), on the lower leg. Design: Single-blinded prospective, longitudinal, controlled, repeated-measures design. Setting: Research Laboratory Participants: 28 volunteers participated in the study (Age=23±3; Males=14/28 (50%); Females=14/28 (50%); Girth=39.5±4.3l; Skinfold=27.9±5.6) Interventions: Each participant received 10-minute treatment (Massage and IASTM) in two separate sessions with the non-treatment leg used as a control. Main Outcome Measures: We measured baseline skin temperature on the calf prior to treatment, and again every 5min after treatment for a total of 60min. We evaluated differences between conditions (4) and time (13) with a repeated measures ANOVA. Significance was set at p

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