Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most common health problems that lead to an individual’s incapacity and represent a big financial burden. These conditions affect muscles, bones, cartilage, articular membranes, tendons and ligaments. They most often cause pain and limited range of motion. Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization is also used to reduce problems associated with musculoskeletal disorders, but its effectiveness has not yet been fully investigated. Purpose: The objective of the diploma work was to present the effects of instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization on pain, range of motion and functional performance in subjects with various musculoskeletal disorders in the upper and lower limbs. Methods: English literature published between 2010 and 2020 was searched in the PubMed, PEDro and Cochrane Library databases. Results: We included 13 studies in the analysis. Studies were freely available in full text. Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization is effective for increasing range of motion of hip flexion, horizontal adduction and internal rotation of the shoulder joint, dorsal and plantar flexion in talocrural joint. Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization is significantly more effective than using a foam roller for increasing range of flexion in the hip joint. A significant difference was observed in the functional capacity of the lower limb in subjects who received instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization, compared to the non-interventional group. Combined with eccentric exercise, it is effective in subjects with Achilles tendinopathy. Positive effects have also been reported in subjects with lateral epicondylitis, but the extents of effects are not yet known. Discussion and conclusion: The results of analyzed researched suggest that instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization is effective in increasing range of motion of hip, shoulder and talocrural joint and the functional capacity of the lower limb. Further research is needed with unified treatment protocol and with bigger samples.
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