Abstract
Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS) is a painful overuse stress injury that plagues many athletes in the secondary school population. MTSS affects up to 20% of runners and females more than their male counterparts. Best practice standards for the treatment of MTSS do not exist in current literature. The MyoKinethetic system (MYK) is a global treatment paradigm that targets the nerve root responsible for compensations. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of MYK treatment on pain and function in the high school population with MTSS symptoms.
A multiple-site case series was conducted with a convenient sample of ten patients with MTSS ages 14-18. An MYK postural analysis was performed on high school-aged patients by a clinician trained by the creator of the MYK system. Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and Patient Specific Function Scale (PSFS) were collected pretreatment and post-treatment for a maximum of seven treatments.
A repeated measure ANOVA was utilized to assess change. There was a significant main effect for time with the NPRS (F(5,45) =7.783, p<0.001, η2p=0.28) and the PSFS scores (F(5,45) =9.606, p<0.001, η2p=0.27).
The MYK treatment was successful in the treatment of MTSS symptoms in the high school population and should be considered a possible treatment option for patients, especially those that participate in sports. More research is needed to assess the effectiveness of the MYK treatment.