BackgroundMassage is often applied with the intention of improving flexibility or reducing stiffness in musculotendinous tissue. There is, however, a lack of supporting evidence that such mechanical effects occur. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of massage on the passive mechanical properties of the calf muscle complex.MethodsTwenty nine healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 45 years of age had their calf muscle compliance and ankle joint dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) measured using an instrumented footplate before, immediately and 30 minutes after a ten minute application of deep massage or superficial heating to the calf muscle complex. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to determine differences between testing sessions and the types of intervention. Reliability testing for the measurement method was conducted using analysis of variance both within and between testing sessions.ResultsThere was no significant change in calf muscle stiffness or ankle dorsiflexion range of motion with or without the application of calf massage. Inter- and intra-session reliability were very high, ICC > 0.88 (p < 0.001).ConclusionsAlthough individuals’ perception of a change in tissue characteristics following massage has been reported, there was no evidence that soft tissue massage led to a change in the passive mechanical properties of the calf muscle complex. The findings of this study suggest that the use of massage to increase tissue flexibility prior to activity is not justified.

Background Few studies have assessed physical functioning in glioma patients with grade II, III, IV glioma prior to undergoing adjuvant radiation with or without chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to describe the baseline physical functioning capacity of patients with glioma prior to adjuvant therapy compared to validated cut-offs required to maintain independence. Methods This study is a cross-sectional study that recruited patients with grade II, III, IV glioma (n=33) undergoing adjuvant radiation with or without chemotherapy. The six-minute walk, thirty-second sit-to-stand and timed “Up & Go” assessments were used to describe baseline physical functioning. Perceived quality of life from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) quality of life questionnaire (QLQ-C30) version 3.0 was used to quantify quality of life. Results Mean distance walked in the six-minute walk test was 416.2 meters (SD 137.6 meters) with a mean of 12.2 stands (SD 3.4 stands) achieved during the thirty-second sit-to-stand. Median time to complete the timed “Up & Go” assessment was seven seconds (Interquartile Range: three seconds). One sample t-tests suggest walking distance and chair stands were significantly lower than cut-off criterions to maintain independent living, t(32)= -5.96, p &lt;0.001, bias-corrected accelerated 95% CI [370.7 to 460.4] and, t(32)= -4.60, p&lt;0.01, bias-corrected accelerated 95% CI [11.0 to 13.4] respectively. Wilcoxon signed-rank test identified significantly shorter median time taken to complete the timed “Up & Go” test compared to the cut-off criterion (z = -4.43, n= 33, p&lt;0.01). Conclusion This study suggests glioma patient’s aerobic endurance and lower limb strength are below criterion cut-offs recommended to maintain independent living. Timed “Up & Go” scores did not exceed the criterion cut-off, indicating respectable levels of mobility.