The morphological evidence indicated that the application of heavy pressure promoted the healing process to a greater degree than light or moderate pressure.
Augmented Soft Tissue Mobilization (ASTM) is a new non-invasive soft tissue mobilization technique which has been used successfully to treat a variety of musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of ASTM therapy on the morphological and functional characteristics of enzyme induced injured rat Achilles tendons. Four groups of five rats were allocated as follows: (A) control, (B) tendinitis, (C) tendinitis plus ASTM, and (D) ASTM alone. Collagenase injury was induced, and the surgical site was allowed to heal for 3 wk. ASTM was performed on the Achilles tendon of groups C and D for 3 min on postoperative days 21, 25, 29, and 33 for a total of four treatments. Gait data were gathered prior to each treatment. The Achilles tendons of each group were harvested 1 wk after the last treatment. Specimens were prepared for light and electron microscopy, and immunostaining for type I and type III collagen and fibronectin was performed. Light microscopy showed increased fibroblast proliferation in the tendinitis plus ASTM treatment group. Although healing in rats may not translate directly to healing in humans, the findings of this study suggest that ASTM may promote healing via increased fibroblast recruitment.
This study quantified the effects of an aquatic exercise program on muscular strength, endurance, work, and power of patients with multiple sclerosis. Ten individuals with a mean age of 40 years participated in a 10-week aquatic exercise program. Two types of isokinetic dynamometers were used to assess the muscular variables studied. A Cybex II dynamometer was used to measure peak torque, work, and fatigue in the knee flexor and extensor muscles and a biokinetic swim bench was used to measure muscular force, work, fatigue, and power in the upper extremities. Five velocity settings were selected for each of three testing trials (pretrial, midtrial, and posttrial). For the lower extremities, analysis of variance indicated a significant improvement of peak torque for knee extensor muscles from the pretrial to midtrial (p less than .05). Peak torque values from pretrial to midtrial for knee flexors and from midtrial to posttrial for both the knee extensor and flexor muscles indicated a nonsignificant difference at each velocity studied. Fatigue and work values in the lower extremities improved significantly between the pretrial and posttrial (p less than .05). For the upper extremities, an analysis of variance indicated a significant increase in all force measurements from pretrial to posttrial (p less than .05). Power and total work values also improved significantly (p less than .05). No significant difference in fatigue measurements for the upper extremities was found. The results of this investigation indicated that an aquatic exercise program may induce positive changes in muscular strength, fatigue, work, and power in patients with multiple sclerosis.
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