Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 9, 2026
Lower Limb Biomechanical Analysis of Healthy Participants
Published on: April 15, 2020
THE EFFECTS OF INSTRUMENT ASSISTED SOFT TISSUE MOBILIZATION ON LOWER EXTREMITY MUSCLE PERFORMANCE: A RANDOMIZED
Nicole MacDonald1, Russell Baker2, Scott W Cheatham3
1California Baptist University, Riverside, CA, USA.
Background:
Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) is a non-invasive therapeutic technique used to theoretically aid in scar tissue breakdown and absorption, fascial mobilization, and improved tissue healing. Researchers have hypothesized that utilizing IASTM will improve muscular efficiency and performance; yet previous Investigations has been focused on treating injury.
Objective:
The purpose of this investigation was to explore the effects of IASTM on muscle performance to assess if typical treatment application affected measures of muscular performance.
Design:
A pretest-posttest randomized control design.
Participants:
A convenience sample of 48 physically active adults (mean age 24 ± 4 years), randomly assigned to one of three groups: quadriceps treatment group, triceps surae treatment group, or control group.
Interventions:
Participants performed a five-minute warm-up on a Monark bicycle ergometer before performing three countermovement vertical jumps (CMJ). Immediately after, the IASTM treatment was applied by one researcher for three minutes on each leg at the specified site (e.g., quadriceps) for those assigned to the treatment groups, while the control group rested for six minutes. Immediately following treatment, participants performed three additional CMJs. Pre- and post-testing included measures of vertical jump height (JH), peak power (PP) and peak velocity (PV).
Results:
There were no statistically significant differences found between treatment groups in JH, PP, or PV or across pre- and post-test trials.
Conclusions:
These preliminary findings suggest that standard treatment times of IASTM do not produce an immediate effect in muscular performance in healthy participants. This may help clinicians determine the optimal sequencing of IASTM when it is part of a pre-performance warm-up program. Future research should be conducted to determine the muscle performance effects of IASTM in individuals with known myofascial restriction and to determine optimal treatment parameters, such as instrument type, amount of pressure, and treatment time necessary to affect muscular performance.
Level Of Evidence:
1b.
More Related Videos
07:49Application of Consistent Massage-Like Perturbations on Mouse Calves and Monitoring the Resulting Intramuscular Pressure Changes
Published on: September 20, 2019
08:40Quantifying Arms and Legs Contributions during Repetitive Electrically-Assisted Sit-To-Stand Exercise in Paraplegics: A Pilot Study
Published on: November 11, 2022