ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives: The prevalence of Myofascial pain disorder has been increasing dramatically in recent years. Myofascial pain is generated by Myofascial trigger points in muscle tissue. There are various studies conducted on the efficacy of manual techniques to reduce pain due to Myofascial trigger points. Objectives of the study is to find out the effect of Myofascial Release and Deep Transverse Friction and compare the effectiveness of Myofascial Release versus Deep Transverse Friction on patients with Myofascial trigger points of upper back.

Methods: Total number of 30 subjects participated in this study. The study duration was 2 weeks, which was divided into 6 sittings alternately. Data were collected from subjects by using Visual Analog Scale before and after application of the technique. Statistical analysis has done using Wilcoxon Signed rank test and Mann Whitney U test.

Results: There was significant reduction in the level of pain on different days in both the groups. Pain level of subjects treated with Deep Transverse Friction was markedly reduced significantly with (P<0.01) immediately after the treatment in each sitting.

Conclusion: The study concluded that in comparison to Myofascial Release, the Deep Transverse Friction is more effective in reducing pain.

Keywords: Deep Transverse Friction, Myofascial Release, Myofascial Trigger Points, Visual Analog Scale.