Comparison of blood flow changes with soft tissue mobilization and massage therapy.

Objectives: Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization and massage therapy are manual techniques that claim to increase blood flow to treated areas, yet no data on these techniques are available. This study sought to compare the effects of the Graston Technique(®) (GT) and massage therapy on calf blood flow, using skin temperature measures on the lower leg.

Design: Single-blinded prospective, longitudinal, controlled, repeated-measures design.

Effect of core strength on the measure of power in the extremities.

The purpose of this study was to (a) develop a functional field test to assess the role of the core musculature and its impact on sport performance in an athletic population and (b) develop a functional field test to determine how well the core can transfer forces from the lower to the upper extremities. Twenty-five DI collegiate football players performed medicine ball throws (forward, reverse, right, and left) in static and dynamic positions. The results of the medicine ball throws were compared with several athletic performance measurements: 1 repetition maximum (1RM) squat, squat kg/bw, 1RM bench press, bench kg/bw, countermovement vertical jump (CMJ), 40-yd dash (40 yd), and proagility (PrA).

Cryotherapy and ankle bracing effects on peroneus longus response during sudden inversion.

Cryotherapy and ankle bracing are often used in conjunction as a treatment for ankle injury. No studies have evaluated the combined effect of these treatments on reflex responses during inversion perturbation. This study examined the combined influence of ankle bracing and joint cooling on peroneus longus (PL) muscle response during ankle inversion.

Effectiveness of clinical ultrasound parameters on changing intramuscular temperature.

Context: Researchers have recommended certain ultrasound treatment parameters for deep heating; however, we observed different parameters in the clinical setting.

Objective: To compare the treatment effect of using observed clinical parameters (OCP) from 8 clinicians to the treatment effect of using the recommended parameters (RP) sited in research.

Design: 2 x 2 repeated measures design.

Ultrasound heating is curvilinear in nature and varies between transducers from the same manufacturer.

Context: Ultrasound heating rates are known to differ between various manufacturers; it is unknown whether this difference exists within a manufacturer.

Objective: Determine if intramuscular heating differences exist between transducers from the same manufacturer.

Study Design: 3 x 10 repeated measures.

The role of quantitative Schlieren assessment of physiotherapy ultrasound fields in describing variations between tissue heating rates of different transducers.

Differences in tissue heating rates between ultrasound transducers have been well documented; however, comparative analysis between ultrasound fields to determine why tissue heating rates may differ is lacking. We selected three transducers from the same manufacturer with similar effective radiating area, output power, effective intensity and beam nonuniformity ratio [as defined by the FDA, 21 CFR Chap. 1, part 1,050 (10)], but markedly different Schlieren images.

Effect of transducer velocity on intramuscular temperature during a 1-MHz ultrasound treatment.

Study Design: A 3 x 2 repeated-measures design was used. The independent variables were transducer velocity (2-3 cm/s, 4-5 cm/s, and 7-8 cm/s) and time (pretreatment and posttreatment).

Objective: To determine if transducer velocity of a 1-MHz ultrasound treatment affects intramuscular tissue temperature.

Local ice-bag application and triceps surae muscle temperature during treadmill walking.

Context: Ice bags "to go" are a common practice in athletic training.

Objective: To determine the effect of submaximal exercise on tissue temperatures during a common ice-bag application.

Design: 2 X 5 fully repeated-measures design with treatment (cooling while resting, cooling while walking) and time (pretreatment, immediately after ice application, and at 10, 20, and 30 minutes during treatment) as the independent variables.

Exercise and quadriceps muscle cooling time.

Context: Cryotherapy is commonly used for a variety of purposes; however, the body's response to cryotherapy immediately postexercise is unknown.

Objective: To investigate the effect of prior exercise on crushed-ice-bag treatment of a large muscle group.

Design: 2 x 3 repeated-measures design on depth (1 cm and 2 cm below adipose tissue) and treatment (exercise followed by ice, exercise followed by no ice, and no exercise followed by ice).

Effects of functional electric stimulation cycle ergometry training on lower limb musculature in acute sci individuals.

The purpose of this study was to compare three different intervals for a between sets rest period during a common isokinetic knee extension strength-testing protocol of twenty older Brazilian men (66.30 ± 3.92 yrs).