Does the Addition of Manual Therapy Techniques Increase Gastrocnemius/Soleus Length More Than Stretching Alone?

This study will examine the short term effects of adding manual therapy techniques to static stretching in Dorsiflexion (DF) Range of Motion (ROM). The investigators will be studying 2 forms of manual therapy, a rear-foot thrust joint mobilization (TJM), and Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM). By comparing 3 groups: TJM+static stretching versus IASTM + static stretching versus static stretching alone the investigators wish to see if there are any short term benefits in DF ROM by adding either of these interventions to static stretching.

The manual therapy treatment will occur over 2 sessions and DF ROM measurements will be taken 4 times over a 2 week period.

The population that the investigators wish to examine are subjects with healthy feet and ankles, but with limited DF ROM.

The primary objective of this study is to see if subjects with decreased dorsiflexion motion will experience greater increases in dorsiflexion motion with the addition of manual therapy of static stretching alone.

Our hypothesis is subjects who receive manual therapy therapy and static stretching will experience a significant increase in DF ROM as compared to subjects who receive static stretching alone. More specifically subjects who are treated with the IASTM will experience greater results than subjects who are treated with the rear-foot thrust mobilization.