• Rob Grieve, Amy Cranston, Andrew Henderson, Rachel John, George Malone, and Christopher Mayall.
• Department of Allied Health Professions, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Glenside Campus, University of the West of England (UWE), Blackberry Hill, Bristol BS16 1DD, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Rob.Grieve@uwe.ac.uk.
• J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2013 Oct 1; 17 (4): 453-61.

ObjectivesTo investigate the immediate effect on restricted active ankle joint dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM), after a single intervention of myofascial trigger point (MTrP) therapy on latent triceps surae MTrPs in recreational runners.DesignA crossover randomised controlled trial.ParticipantsTwenty-two recreational runners (11 men and 11 women; mean age 24.57; ±8.7 years) with a restricted active ankle joint dorsiflexion and presence of latent MTrPs.InterventionParticipants were screened for a restriction in active ankle dorsiflexion in either knee flexion (soleus) or knee extension (gastrocnemius) and the presence of latent MTrPs. Participants were randomly allocated a week apart to both the intervention (combined pressure release and 10 s passive stretch) and the control condition.ResultsA clinically meaningful (large effect size) and statistically significant increase in ankle ROM in the intervention compared to the control group was achieved, for the soleus (p = 0.004) and the gastrocnemius (p = 0.026).ConclusionApart from the statistical significance (p < 0.05), these results are clinically relevant due to the immediate increase in ankle dorsiflexion. These results must be viewed in caution due to the carry-over effect in the RCT crossover design and the combined MTrP therapy approach.Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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