Effect of instrument assisted soft tissue manipulation Versus positional release therapy on pain and functional disability on unilateral upper trapezitis: A Comparative Study.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46858/Keywords:
Upper trapezitis, instrument assisted soft tissue manipulation, positional release therapy, ultrasound therapy, neck disability index, visual analogue scale.Abstract
Effect of instrument assisted soft tissue manipulation Versus positional release therapy on pain and functional disability on unilateral upper trapezitis: A Comparative Study.
1 P Mahendran,2K. Kalaiselvi, 3N. Sujana
1Principal, 2Professor, Acharya Institute of Health Sciences, R.T.Nagar, Bangalore.
3 Clinical Physiotherapist, JMJ hospital, Bangalore
Background: Trapezitis is an inflammation of the trapezius muscle leads to formation of myofascial trigger points which will get aggravated by improper posture which is causing pain, reduced range of motion and functional disability. Instrument assisted soft tissue manipulation and positional release therapy will help to release myofascial trigger points to restore the muscle structure and function.
Materials and Methodology: 65 subjects identified with unilateral upper trapezitis were screened for eligibility and 60 subjects satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study were randomly allocated into two groups were Group A (n=30) received instrument assisted soft tissue manipulation along with ultrasound therapy and Group B(n=30) received positional release therapy along with ultrasound therapy. Both the groups received 3 session/week for 4weeks. The outcome was measured during the first day and at the end 4thweek of intervention using VAS and neck disability index for pain and functional disability.
Results: Both intervention groups demonstrated statistically significant improvements across all outcome measures. In Group A (instrument assisted soft tissue manipulation), the neck reduced from 7.53± 0.82 before the intervention to 1.37 ± 1.03 after the intervention (p < 0.001).In Group B (positional release therapy), NDI improved from 23.33 ± 4.79 to 8.43±2.75 (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Hence, concluded that Group A (instrument assisted soft tissue manipulation) is significantly effective than Group B (positional release therapy) on pain and functional disability on unilateral upper trapezitis.References
1. Osma M, Ali, Malik RJ. Posture related musculoskeletal discomfort and its association with computer use among university students. J Pak Med Assoc. 2018 Apr;68(4):639641. PMID: 29808057.
2. Dong H, Zhang Q, Liu G, Shao T. Prevalence of neck/shoulder pain among public hospital workers in China and its associated factors: a cross-sectional study. Sci Rep. 2020 Jul 23;10(1):12311. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-69382-4. PMID: 32704050; PMCID: PMC7378822.
3. Cheng YH, Huang GC. Efficacy of massage therapy on pain and dysfunction in patients with neck pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2014 Oct;2014.
4. Genebra CVDS, Maciel NM, Bento TPF, Simeão SFAP, Vitta A. Prevalence and factors associated with neck pain: a population-based study. Braz J Phys Ther. 2017 Jul-Aug;21(4):274-
280. doi: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2017.05.005. Epub 2017 May 20. PMID: 28602744; PMCID: PMC5537482.
5. Yadav, Trupti; Gherwara, Kusha N. Effectiveness of upper limb and scapular stabilization exercises in college students suffering from recurrent trapezitis. MGM Journal of Medical Sciences 10(2):p 309-316, April-June 2023. | DOI: 10.4103/mgmj.MGMJ_112_23
6. Cerezo-Téllez E, Lacomba MT, Fuentes-Gallardo I, Mayoral Del Moral O, Rodrigo-Medina B, Gutiérrez Ortega C. Dry needling of the trapezius muscle in office workers with neck pain: a randomized clinical trial. J Man Manip Ther. 2016 Sep;24(4):223-32. doi: 10.1179/2042618615Y.0000000004. PMID: 27582622; PMCID: PMC4987146.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 P. Mahendran, K. Kalaiselvi, N. Sujana

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.