Type of Submission
Poster
Keywords
IASTM, cupping, hamstring, flexibility, rehabilitation, athletic training, sports medicine
Proposal
The hamstring muscles are a vital muscle group for many sports as they use eccentric contractions to provide dynamic stability that assists the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in preventing forward translation of the tibia. Because of the high biomechanical stresses placed on this muscle group, it often is strained, resulting in a buildup of scar tissue in the muscle. The scar tissue may restrict ROM and prolong the healing process or predispose the athlete to reinjury. Cupping therapy and instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) are both used by clinicians to break up these adhesions and thus increase hamstring flexibility. The purpose of this study is to directly compare the effects of cupping therapy and IASTM on hamstring flexibility in healthy individuals. If both interventions result in similar scores, cupping therapy can be considered more effective in clinical application due to its comparatively lower cost and clinician time commitment. There was no significant difference in active AKE scores over time for either treatment group. There were also no significant differences in active AKE scores between the two treatment groups. Because there were no significant differences in AKE scores between the two groups, we must conclude that cupping is not more effective than IASTM at increasing active AKE scores.
Start Date
4-8-2020 1:00 PM
End Date
4-22-2020 6:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Publication Date
April 2020
The Effects of Cupping vs. Instrument-assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization on Hamstring Flexibility
The hamstring muscles are a vital muscle group for many sports as they use eccentric contractions to provide dynamic stability that assists the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in preventing forward translation of the tibia. Because of the high biomechanical stresses placed on this muscle group, it often is strained, resulting in a buildup of scar tissue in the muscle. The scar tissue may restrict ROM and prolong the healing process or predispose the athlete to reinjury. Cupping therapy and instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) are both used by clinicians to break up these adhesions and thus increase hamstring flexibility. The purpose of this study is to directly compare the effects of cupping therapy and IASTM on hamstring flexibility in healthy individuals. If both interventions result in similar scores, cupping therapy can be considered more effective in clinical application due to its comparatively lower cost and clinician time commitment. There was no significant difference in active AKE scores over time for either treatment group. There were also no significant differences in active AKE scores between the two treatment groups. Because there were no significant differences in AKE scores between the two groups, we must conclude that cupping is not more effective than IASTM at increasing active AKE scores.
