Effects of Local Vibration on Shoulder Horizontal Adduction and Internal Rotation Range of Motion in Subject with Posterior Shoulder Tightness

Effects of Local Vibration on Shoulder Horizontal Adduction and Internal Rotation Range of Motion in Subject with Posterior Shoulder Tightness

Background: In recent years, the use of local vibration (LV) devices is increasing to increase the elongation and reduce stiffness of muscle tissue in the field of rehabilitation and sports. However, to date, no research has been conducted on the therapeutic effect of local vibration therapy devices. Purpose: We investigated the effects of local vibration on the posterior shoulder tightness, specifically, range of motion (ROM) of the shoulder horizontal adduction (HA) and internal rotation (IR). Study design: One group pre-post study Methods: Thirteen subjects with limitation in passive shoulder HA and IR with less than 50% of normal ROM were recruited from university. Results: All continuous variables were found to approximate a normal distribution (Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z-test, p>0.05). The shoulder HA and IR ROM were significantly different between pre- and post-LV (p<0.05). Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, it was found that it is effective to apply LV to areas with shortening and stiffness of muscle or fascia tissue.