Nabil Mahmoud Ismail Abdel-Aal
Assistant Professor of physical Therapy
7 Ahmed Elzayat street, Been Elsarayate, Dokki, Giza, Egypt (email)
7 Ahmed Elzayat street, Been Elsarayate, Dokki, Giza, Egypt (email)
Objective: To investigate the additive effects of instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization to the conventional physical therapy program on handgrip strength, upper limb functions, and pain in patients with subacromial impingement syndrome.
Design: A single-blinded, randomized controlled study. Setting:Outpatient physical therapy clinic, Cairo University Hospitals.
Subjects: Sixty patients, 25 to 40 years old, with subacromial impingement syndrome, were randomly assigned either into one of two groups: study or control.
Intervention: The study group received the conventional physical therapy for subacromial impingement syndrome plus instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM), while the
control group received only the conventional physical therapy. Interventions were conducted three times per week for four weeks.
Outcome measures: Hand grip strength, upper limb functions, andpainwere evaluated at the beginning of the study and after two, and four weeks of interventions.
Results:There were statistically significant differences in hand grip strength, upper limb functions, and pain in both groups after 2 and 4 weeks from intervention in favor of the study group (p< 0.05). After 4 weeks from intervention, M±SD for HG, DASH, and VAS were 31.28±5.19 kg, 7.18±3.44, and 15.0±5.72 mm in the study group, and 21.48±6.87 kg, 16.69±6.67, and 30.67±6.91 mm in the control group, respectively.
Conclusions: Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization combined with the conventional physical therapy program was more beneficial in improving hand grip strength, upper limb functions, and pain than the conventional physicaltherapy alone. It could be used as a useful adjunctive therapy in management of patients with subacromial impingement syndrome.
Key Words: IASTM, Exercises, Subacromial impingement syndrome, Hand Grip strength.
n/a