The Effects Of Compressive Myofascial Release On The Triceps Surae And Its Influence On Dorsiflexion At The Ankle

The Effect of Compressive Myofascial Release on the Triceps Surae and its Influence on Dorsiflexion at the Ankle Joint Sullivan TS, Illinois State University, Normal, IL Context: Restricted dorsiflexion at the ankle joint can cause both acute and chronic injuries at both the ankle and knee, such as tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis, ankle sprains, patellar femoral pain symptoms, and ACL injuries. Measures can be taken to release restriction and decrease risk of injury. Myofascial release techniques are popular interventions because they are cost-effective and have shown significant improvements. Objective: To measure the effects of compressive myofascial release intervention on closed chain ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM). Design: Randomized control trial. Setting: Athletic training room Patients or Other Participants: Forty physically active participants (Age: 18-25 years). Interventions: Participants\u27 closed chain ROM was measured while both standing and kneeling. An average of three trials was recorded. Participants with more than 30 degrees of dorsiflexion and Silfverskiold test indication of osseous restriction were excluded from this study. Qualifying participants limb(s) were randomly assigned to one of two groups; compressive myofascial release or control. Two sessions were held with each participant. The first session consisted of measuring baseline range of motion, determining osseous vs. soft tissue restriction using the Silfverskiold test, receiving an intervention, and measuring immediately post intervention. The second session solely consisted of re-measuring ROM. Main Outcome Measures: Ankle dorsiflexion was measured before and after compressive myofascial release was applied to the triceps surae as well as one week post intervention. Two repeated measures ANOVAs were run for the standing and kneeling conditions. Post hoc pairwise comparisons were also run to asses group x time interaction. All participants completed the study. Results: Increase in ankle dorsiflexion was statically significant. Standing results showed from Baseline to ImmPost (p=.001) and Baseline to 1WkPost (p=.001) . Kneeling results showed significance from Baseline to ImmPost (p=.001) and Baseline to 1WkPost (p=.001). Conclusions: Compressive myofascial release significantly increases hamstring flexibility acutely after a single treatment, in participants with range of motion deficits. These results may suggest that adding multiple treatments or adding other interventions may increase results even more. Clinicians should consider adding compressive myofascial release in rehabilitation protocols for athletes with dorsiflexion deficits. Key Words: Soft tissue, mobilization, range of motion