THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INSTRUMENT-ASSISTED SOFT TISSUE MOBILIZATION TECHNIQUE ON MUSCULOSKELETAL SOFT TISSUE INJURIES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to determine the impact of IASTM on musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries.  Materials and Methods: In order to find terms like "instrument," "assisted," "soft tissue dysfunction AND wrist, back, elbow, knee, ankle and foot", "interventions AND IASTM," studies from conception to December 2021 were systematically analyzed across seven electronic databases: Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Scopus, PEDro, and Web of Science. The inclusion criteria for the systematic review were thus met by (n=14) randomized controlled studies. Results: IASTM treatments are associated with both short and long-term pain reduction and improved functioning. IASTM was discovered to have a short-term favorable effect on the functioning of patients with soft tissue injuries.  Conclusion: It was established that IASTM had a short-term positive impact on the functionality of individuals with soft tissue injuries in different body regions. Future researches should focus on acquiring information about long-term effects using credible evidence.

Evaluation of Heat Stress Management Strategies for Holstein Friesian Bulls under Subtropical Conditions

This study consisted of three independent experiments. In the first experiment, the effects of different housing strategies on metrological, physiological and reproductive parameters of Holstein Friesian bulls were noted during summer. Similarly, the effect of dietary vitamin E and Selenium Supplementation (experiment-2) and fat supplementation (experiment-3) on physiological responses, reproductive performance and blood chemistry profile in Holstein Friesian breeding bulls was determined during the summer season. A total of 36 mature Holstein Friesian bulls were randomly selected and equally (n=12) divided into three groups (experiment-1); 1) CTL, bulls kept under shade only; 2) FN, bulls provided with fans under shade, and 3) FNS, showering along with fans under shade. The trial lasted for six months from April, 2016 till September, 2016, and divided into two seasons (dry hot and humid hot). THI was recorded at three different times of the day i.e., 0500h, 1400h and 2200h. The data obtained was subjected to ANOVA under CRD using SAS software. A total of eighteen (n=18) mature Holstein Friesian breeding bulls with similar body weight and age were divided into three groups (experiment-2) i.e., 1) CTL, basal diet without Se and Vit. E supplementation; 2) SeS, basal diet supplemented with 3 g Selemax® (Biorigin, USA); 3) ESeS, basal diet with 3 g Selemax® and Vit. E at 6000 IU/day). The data were analyzed by ANOVA using SAS software. Similarly, in the 3rd experiment, bulls were randomly assigned to three groups (n=6 in each group) i.e., 1) basal diet without fat supplementation (CTL); 2) basal diet with 100 g fat supplementation (FS100; Energizer-RP-10®, IFFCO, Johor, Malaysia); and 3) basal diet with 200 g fat supplementation (FS200). For determination of statistical significance, ANOVA under CRD was applied by using SAS software (Uni. Edi.). In the first experiment, blood glucose concentration was significantly different among the treatment groups. Mean fortnightly glucose for CTL, FN, and FNS was 78.5, 72.6, and 71.5 ± 2.70 mg/dl. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and testosterone levels were similar among all the treatment groups. The fans and sprinklers system helped in amelioration of heat stress by lowering the THI and physiological responses. In second experiment, Vit. E and Se supplementation significantly improved testosterone levels in blood (P = 0.0014). Vit E and Se had no effect on BUN and glucose levels. The combination of Vit. E and Se significantly improved sperm motility. The ESeS group had significantly (P = 0.0042) higher sperm motility (78.5%) compared to CTL (71 .12%). The Vit. E and Se significantly improved ALH (Amplitude of lateral head displacement) values. Therefore, vitamin E and Selenium supplementation could be used for sustaining breeding bull reproductivity during humid hot summer. Similarly, in third experiment, semen volume and semen concentration showed a decreasing trend with the supplementation of fat, while other semen traits including sperm motility, progressive motility, amplitude of lateral head displacement, live to dead ratio, normal acrosomal ridge, plasma membrane integrity, and DNA integrity were not influenced. Fat supplementation did not affect testosterone concentration. Glucose showed a quadratic trend in response to fat supplementation with highest values in FS100 (81.23) followed by CTL (78.66) and FS200 (78.17). Blood urea nitrogen linearly increased with increasing fat supplementation. The showering with fans improved physiological responses and decreased water intake requirements. Furthermore, showering with fans tended to improve semen volume. Physiological responses were higher in humid hot summer. The current findings indicate that showering with fans improved the welfare of bulls during summer by lowering physiological responses with minor gain in semen volume. Humid hot summer was less damaging to certain semen characteristics compared to dry hot summer. The Vit. E and Se supplementation improved certain important semen traits and testosterone levels in Holstein Friesian bulls during hot humid summer but did not improve the welfare of bulls. It could also be concluded that addition of fat did not improve physiological and reproductive performance of bulls during summer. FA200 group improved some semen parameters during hot humid summer.