Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization Effect on Blood Flow

Qualification of Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization Induced Hyperemia Using Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT04785079

Enrollment

Registered

2021-03-05

Start date

2020-08-01

Completion date

2022-03-01

Last updated

2022-07-27

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Asymptomatic Condition

Keywords

Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization, Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Imaging, Bood circulation, Perception

Brief summary

This study is designed to evaluate the short term change in blood flow in the superficial human tissue layers after the application of 3 min Graston instrumented assisted soft tissue mobilization on the plantar aspect of the foot and the trapezius muscle.

Detailed description

Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) is a commonly used physical therapy intervention. Graston ® technique is a form of IASTM that requires completion of a certification course and utilizes specific stainless-steel tools. IASTM has been found to improve range of motion, pain and patient reported function in pathological individuals. One method by which these improvements are thought to occur is by increasing blood flow. Increased blood flow brings nutrients and oxygen to the area and is thought to contribute to tissue remodeling. There is very limited research investigating blood flow changes following IASTM. In order to measure blood flow changes following IASTM, doppler ultrasound may be used. There are no studies to our knowledge quantifying changes in blood flow following IASTM using ultrasound. Power doppler approximates perfusion by detecting a frequency shift from movement of red blood cells and color is then encoded proportionally to the number of red blood cells. Power doppler imaging quantification (PDIQ) is a feature of musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSK) that compares the number of color pixels and the intensity of color within these pixels to grey scale pixels within a given image. The aim of this study is to determine if there is an increase in blood flow in the trapezius, plantar fascia and medial arch of the foot measured following IASTM. Blood flow was measured by using PDIQ ratio in the doppler setting of MSK ultrasound.

Interventions

PROCEDUREGraston Instrument assisted Soft tissue Mobilization

Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization using the Graston tool and technique for 3 minutes on each of the three locations

Study design

Allocation

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Intervention model description

Quasi-experimental study using a single group

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* A-symptomatic individuals over the age of 18

Exclusion criteria

* Anyone under 18 and anyone with any conditions contraindicated for IASTM including compromised tissue integrity, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), area of infection in the treatment area, or acute fracture.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
GE LOGIQe ultrasound machine to measure maximum power doppler imaging quantification (PDIQ) ratios	One day measure-First measure will be taken before the treatment intervention, immediate after the intervention and three minutes afterward. Total time for the experiment is 15 minutes	ultrasound images are used to calculate the ratio of color to grey scale pixels called the power doppler quantification ratio (PDIQ).

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026