Effect of Self-Fascial Release of The Back on Trunk Function

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of self-fascial release of the back using a roller massage on trunk function. A crossover study was conducted in 18 healthy male university students, in which two conditions, intervention with a roller massage and control（rest），were randomly performed. Before and after the intervention, long-seat anteflexion, abdominal muscle strength were evaluated, and lumbar / fascial gliding was evaluated by ultrasonography. The movement velocity of the subcutaneous tissue and the multifidus muscle over time was calculated by echo video analysis software, and gliding was analyzed by the correlation coefficient between the two. As a result, the long-seat anteflexion（p = 0.004）， abdominal muscle strength（p= 0.016），and gliding（p= 0.004）showed significant differences in the intervention effect. Roller massage intervention resulted in significant improvements in flexibility（+1.39 cm, p = 0.003）， trunk strength（+1.84 kPa, p <0.001）， and gliding（-0.079, p = 0.009）．The self-fascial release of the back using a roller massage showed the improvement of the range of motion of the back, the abdominal trunk muscle strength, and the extensibility of the lumbar muscle/ fascial.