Chronic repetitive motion and overuse injuries made up a large proportion of musculoskeletal and nerve disorders. These conditions are often called repetitive motion disorder or repetitive strain injuries. Painful and disabling musculoskeletal disorders remain prevalent and manual therapy has been used to treat such issues. However the actual neural mechanism of how manual therapy work
Massage as a post-exercise recovery for athletes is not new. And new scientific findings seem to support the use of massage as a post-exercise therapy, according to Thomas Best from University of Miami and Scott Crawford from University of Nebraska in an editorial published in the October 2016 issue of British Journal of Sports Medicine. Physiological Mechanisms… The
A daily five-minute massage with a face roller could result in up to a 25% increase in blood flow to the skin. IMAGING REVEALED RED COLORS, INDICATING HIGHER SKIN BLOOD FLOW, IN THE MASSAGED AREA. CREDIT: TOKYO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. Facial massage rollers are commonly used for beauty care, however their effects on skin
Scars developed from the surgical treatment of breast cancer can lead to adverse effects such as fibrosis and adhesions within the connective tissue. Manual therapy such as myofascial release (MFR) has been used with an intention to reduce fascial adhesions. A study from Valencia, Spain investigated the clinical impact of MFR treatment on female survivors of breast
Massage is commonly administered to reduce muscle stiffness and enhance recovery from exercise. However, the effect that massage has on muscle stiffness following exercise has not been researched. A study from Singapore published in Journal of Sport Science & Medicine examined the effect of post-exercise massage on passive muscle stiffness over a five-day period. The
Touch is an important communication channel for humans that is key to manual therapy. Several studies have demonstrated that the stimulation of sensory/afferent touch fibers activates specific brain areas in the person (subject/client) receiving the touch stimulus. We also know that the activation pattern of our central nervous system is influenced by the attention that
The morphology of fascial connective tissue may play an important role in locomotor mechanics. The connective tissue, more specifically the deep fascia, can impact range of motion in two ways. First, fascia is connected to the underlying muscle along its full peripheral length. Changes in the fascia’s mechanical properties (e.g. altered stiffness) might restrict the
Foam rolling has become a popular self-treatment adjunct to manual therapy. It is prescribed to increase range of motion (ROM) and improve pain tolerance. In particular, foam rolling over the iliotibial band (ITB) is a popular treatment for ITB syndrome, patellofemoral pain syndrome, runner’s knee, and hip bursitis. Past studies demonstrated that foam rolling increases
A study from Brazil published in Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation investigated the acute effects of static stretching on skin temperature, flexibility, passive muscle stiffness, and pain during hamstring stretching in healthy young subjects. Why would this be important? Because if stretching increases skin temperature, then it can be assumed that it increases the temperature of the myofascial tissues. This
Can a “tight” sciatic nerve restrict ankle joint range of motion? If so, nerve mobilization technique should be effective toward increasing dorsiflexion of the ankle joint. It is commonly believed that maximal ankle joint range of motion (ROM) into dorsiflexion is restricted by the tension within the plantar flexor muscles (e.g., gastrocnemius, soleus, tibialis posterior,
