Effects of Pre-Event Soft Tissue Treatment on Functional Movement and Functional Performance

All participants will complete baseline testing, intervention, and post intervention testing in a single day. The total time for a participant to complete the entire study is anticipated to be between 1.5 and 2 hours. Upon arrival to the Athletic Training Clinic, a participant's demographic information will be collected. This information will consist of the following: age, weight, height, and percent body fat using a standard seven site skinfold measurement. Other information will be recorded, such as sport, position, gender, years of college sport experience, and year in school. The research team will ensure that the participant is dressed appropriately in athletic shorts and T-shirt. Spandex® or compression type garments will not be allowed to be worn at any time during the study.

Once the demographic information is collected, a full body warm up will be initiated. Participants will be instructed to warm up on a bike for 5 minutes at an intensity of 4 to 6 as represented on the OMNI scale of perceived exertion. This warm up is based on the guidelines set forth by the American College of Sports Medicine. Following the warm up, each participant's baseline measurements will be taken in this order: Vertical Jump (VJ), Y-Balance Lower Quarter (YBLQ), and rating of Perceived Lower Extremity Function-Visual Analog Scale (PLEF-VAS).

Following baseline data collection, participants will be randomly assigned to an intervention. One of the three treatments previously described will take place in the Athletic Training Clinic. An individual not associated with the research committee or research team will conduct the randomization. Immediately following the intervention, participants will proceed to the performance evaluation testing area for post treatment testing. The participant may elect to bring one chaperon of their choosing to the treatment area. Warm up and performance testing order will remain consistent for each participant and will follow the order as conducted during baseline measure.

Trained undergraduate research assistants, blinded from the treatment allocation will collect the testing data. The testing data will include: the VJ, YBLQ, and the PLEF-VAS. The clinicians (doctoral candidate and assisting clinician) will provide Astym treatment (AT), The Stick treatment (ST), or massage treatment (MT) and will not be present for the VJ, YBLQ, and the PLEF-VAS nor will the clinicians providing the intervention be present in the testing area during baseline test collection.

Testing Procedures Participants will perform the VJ and YBLQ Screen following a 5-minute-warm up as previously described. The highest jump of three attempts will be recorded for the counter movement VJ. The longest reach of three attempts in the anterior, posteriolateral and posteromedial directions will be recorded following the established YBLQ protocol.