ArticleFrontiers in sports and active living2024
The effect of a 5-week therapeutic massage on erector spinae and upper trapezius muscle stiffness as determined by shear-wave elastography: a randomized controlled trial.
Article in Frontiers in sports and active living, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effects of Trapezius Muscle Self-Stretching on Muscle Stiffness and Choroidal Circulatory Dynamics: An Evaluation Using Ultrasound Strain Elastography and Laser Speckle Flowgraphy.Tomography (Ann Arbor, Mich.) · 2025Article
- Yoga training enhances elastic biomechanics of trapezius and hamstrings: a quantitative SWE assessment.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
Introduction: Massage is an effective treatment for reducing pain, swelling, stiffness, and improving muscle mobility. Although self-reported benefits on muscle stiffness and pain are well-known, studies measuring muscle stiffness objectively are scarce. Methods: A randomized controlled trial involving 30 recreationally active young women (22.3 ± 0.4 years) was conducted. The participants were randomly assigned to either the control group or the intervention group which received a series of five 30-min whole back therapeutic massage sessions over 5 weeks. Shear wave elastography was used to assess muscle stiffness (erector spinae (ESp) and upper trapezius (UT) muscles) before and after the intervention and at 3-week follow-up. Results: For ESp, there was no statistically significant time × group interaction ( Conclusion: In conclusion, massage significantly reduced proximal UT stiffness both 3 days and 3 weeks after the intervention. However, it had no significant effect on the distal part of UT or the ESp muscle.
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