Vol. 6, Issue 3, Part G (2020)

Background: The upper trapezius is designated as postural muscle and it is highly susceptible to overuse.: Trapezitis is an inflammation of the trapezius muscle and is the most commonly seen condition in clinical practice. Patients experience pain that limits their daily activities. Myofascial release (MFR) is a form of manual therapy that involves the application of a low load, long duration stretch. Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization or IASTM technique includes the use of a tool to treat soft tissue dysfunction.

Outcome Measure: Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Neck Disability Index (NDI)

Method: The study included 30 subjects having upper trapezitis with 15 subjects in each group. Group A received Myofascial Release and Group B received Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) with M2T blade for 18 sessions over a period of 6 weeks.

Result: Inter group analysis for VAS in Group A and B with mean values 3.014 ± 0.9937 and 3.773 ± 0.6419, p= 0.02. Inter group analysis for NDI in Group A and B with mean 10.37 ± 3.942 and 13.59 ± 5.247, p= 0.089.

Conclusion: The study showed significant result in reducing pain and improvement in disability in both the groups. Inter group comparison showed Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization technique is more effective in the long term, to reduce pain in chronic upper trapezitis patients whereas for improving disability, Myofascial Release and Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization are equally effective.