STUDY OVERVIEW: Instrumented Manual Therapy for Shoulder ROM

Study overview: Baseball players displaying decreased in shoulder range of motion (ROM) were found to be at an increased risk of arm injury. The hypothesis was that instrumented manual therapy (using IASTM tools) with self-stretching would result in clinically significant ROM improvements when compared with self-stretching alone. In the controlled laboratory study, the shoulder ROM of 60 active baseball players, ages 17-21, was assesed and then treated in two different groups - one group received a single treatment of instrumented manual therapy along with self-stretching, while the other group did self-stretching only. Deficits in internal rotation, horizontal adduction, and total arc of motion were compared between groups immediately before and after a single treatment session.

Results: Prior to intervention, players displayed significant dominant-sided restrictions in internal rotation (-26°), total arc of motion (-18°), and horizontal adduction (-17°). After the intervention, both groups displayed significant improvements in ROM, with the instrumented manual therapy plus self-stretching group displaying greater increases in internal rotation (+5°), total arc of motion (+6°), and horizontal adduction (+7°) compared with self-stretching alone.

Conclusion: Instrumented manual therapy with self-stretching significantly reduces ROM risk factors in baseball players with restricted ROM when compared with stretching alone.

Read more in the full article and study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28402756/

Read a similar article/study regarding weightlifter shoulder ROM: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28217425/

Read a similar article regarding hamstring recovery with IASTM: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30692839/