EFFECT OF GRASTON TECHNIQUE ON EDEMA FOLLOWING A SPRAIN TO THE LATERAL ANKLE LIGAMENTS
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2016-05
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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Lateral ankle sprains are one of the most common orthopedic injuries experienced by active individuals. Deleterious effects of swelling within the ankle joint include pain and reduced functionality resulting in complications with sport and daily living activities. Treatment techniques resulting in rapid reduction of edema offer significant benefits to patients by reducing pain and increasing function. The Graston Technique, a form of soft tissue mobilization, presents a novel approach in edema reduction and requires further study.
PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of Graston Technique (GT) on reducing edema following an acute sprain to the ankle ligaments.
METHODS: 16 participants were recruited for this study. Subjects were drawn from the recreational athletic population of a large Midwestern university town and were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The GT group was treated with a single session of the Graston Technique while the control group received no treatment. Ankle girth was measured at study enrollment, 10 minutes post-treatment, and after 24 hours using the figure-of-8 method. Furthermore, subjective representations of pain and function were gathered using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) respectively. A repeated measures analysis of variance was completed to assess differences between groups.
RESULTS: Results of the statistical analysis revealed no significant difference in reduction of ankle girth between the Graston Technique and control groups. While participants experienced decreases in girth as measured pre-test and at the 24 hour post-test, these decreases remained similar regardless of group allocation. Furthermore, assessment of subjective function and pain as measured by FAAM and VAS respectively revealed no significant difference between groups.
CONSLUSIONS: Current testing does not indicate that the Graston Technique is more effective than conservative management at altering ankle edema following an ankle sprain. These data indicate that a single session of GT treatment is similar in its efficacy to non-intervention at reducing swelling, decreasing pain, and increasing function.
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