Acute Effects of Percussive Massage Therapy on Thoracolumbar Fascia Thickness and Ultrasound Echo Intensity in Healthy Male Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Chao Yang, Xingyu Huang, Ying Li, Wiraphong Sucharit, Patpiya Sirasaporn and Wichai Eungpinichpong ()
Additional contact information
Chao Yang: Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Graduate School, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand
Xingyu Huang: Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Physical Education, Gan Nan Normal University, Ganzhou 341000, China
Ying Li: School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Gan Nan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China
Wiraphong Sucharit: School of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand
Patpiya Sirasaporn: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand
Wichai Eungpinichpong: School of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: Percussive massage therapy (PT) has been widely used by therapists and the fitness population to treat myofascial-related conditions. However, there is no evidence to confirm the effects of PT on the fascia. This study aimed to investigate the effects of PT on thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) morphology and other related outcomes. Methods: Sixty-six healthy males participated and were randomly allocated into a percussive massage group (PT group) and a control group. The PT group received 15 min of back percussion massage, while the control group rested prone lying in the same environment for 15 min. Thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) thickness and echo intensity, perceived stiffness, lumbar flexibility, and skin temperature were measured in both groups before and immediately after the intervention. Result: TLF thickness and lumbar flexibility did not change when compared in the two groups. However, the echo intensity (left side, difference −3.36, 95% CI −5.1 to −1.6; right side, difference −4.39, 95% CI −6.1 to −2.7) and perceived stiffness (difference, −1.18, 95% CI −1.84 to −0.52) in the TLF region were significantly lower in the PT group than in the control group and were accompanied by increased skin temperature (difference 0.29, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.48). Conclusion: We suggest that a 15 min PT with 30 Hz on the back region could reduce TLF echo intensity and perceived stiffness and increase skin temperature in healthy men individual.

Keywords: ultrasound; massage; percussion; fascia; back (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/2/1073/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/2/1073/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:2:p:1073-:d:1028191

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().