Myofascial Treatment Techniques on the Plantar Surface Influence Functional Performance in the Dorsal Kinetic Chain

Prior studies have shown that self-and manual massage (SMM) increases flexibility in non-adjacent body areas. It is unclear whether this also influences performance in terms of force gener-ation. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of SMM on the plantar surface on performance in the dorsal kinetic chain. Sev-enteen young participants took part in this within-subject non-randomized controlled study. SMM was applied on the plantar surface of the dominant leg, but not on the non-dominant leg. A functional performance test of the dorsal kinetic chain, the Bunkie Test, was conducted before and after the intervention. We measured the performance in seconds for the so-called posterior power line (PPL) and the posterior stabilizing line (PSL). The performance of the dominant leg in the Bunkie Test decreased significantly by 17.2% from (mean ± SD) 33.1 ± 9.9 s to 27.4 ± 11.1 s for the PPL and by 16.3% from 27.6 ± 9.8 s to 23.1 ± 11.7 s for the PSL. This is in contrast to the non-dominant leg where performance increased significantly by 5.1% from 29.7 ± 9.6 s to 31.1 ± 8.9 s for the PPL and by 3.1% from 25.7 ± 1.5 s to 26.5 ± 1.7 s for the PSL. SMM interventions on the plantar surface might influence the performance in the dorsal kinetic chain.