Immediate effect on pain thresholds using active release technique on adductor strains: Pilot study.

BACKGROUND

Pain pressure thresholds (PPT) have not been investigated when Active Release Techniques (ART(®)) is directed at treating soft tissue injuries.

AIM: To investigate the immediate effects of ART(®) employed in the management of adductor muscle strains to modulate pain threshold.

METHODS

Patients were administered ART(®) commensurate with the extent and nature of their adductor muscle injury. The outcome measureused was PPT over the adductor muscle strain which was assessed pre-intervention and 2min post-intervention.

RESULTS

Within group effect sizes were calculated using a paired samples t-test to assess clinical effect. The mean pre-intervention and 2min post-intervention PPT values were 4.2±0.83 and 5.3±0.99 significantly different (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

The application of ART(®) to treat groin strains may be of benefit in increasing pain thresholds amongst ice-hockey players. Future research requires sufficient sample sizing, a control group, and correlations with objective outcome measures (VAS and range of motion) to validate the therapeutic effect of ART(®).