"Comparative Effect of Rolfing Soft Tissue Manipulation and Bowen Technique on Calf Tightness Among Housewives"

May 22, 2026 updated by: Ayesha Zulfiqar, Rashid Latif Medical College
Comparative effect of Rolfing Soft Tissue Manipulation and Bowen Technique on calf tightness among housewives.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Housework involves ongoing physical effort and is predominantly carried out by women. As a result, musculoskeletal (MSK) problems in housewives are a significant concern. Tightness in the calf muscles can limit ankle dorsiflexion, contributing to such issues. Two potential manual therapy interventions, Rolfing Soft Tissue Manipulation (RSTM) and the Bowen Technique (BT) may help alleviate this condition.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
54

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab Province
      • Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 54000
        • Arif Memorial Teaching Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Housewives of age 25-50 years

    • Limited ankle dorsiflexion range of motion <10∘ of ankle dorsiflexion
    • Calf muscle tightness on palpation

Exclusion Criteria:

  • A history of foot and ankle surgery

    • Neurological symptoms indicating a prolapsed intervertebral disc or radiating pain and comorbidities.
    • Any previous Neuromuscular issue, lower extremity pain and any pathology, toe Walkers, pregnant females, fracture of lower extremity and congenital deformity of lower extremity were excluded

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Rolfing Soft Tissue Manipulation
Rolfing soft tissue manipulation aimed to separate bound up fascia by deeply separating the fibers manually to loosen them and allow efficient movement patterns. Rolfing practitioners use their hands, knuckles, elbows and more to "release, realign and balance the whole body". The fascia manipulated until it can operate in conjunction to the muscles in a normal fashion
Other: Rolfing Soft Tissue Manipulation
The initial intervention involved applying a hot pack to the calf muscles (10-minute duration), then with the participant in the prone position and the therapist by their side, a 120-second hold of the Rolfing technique of MFR was applied for the calf muscle
Active Comparator: Bowen Technique
Bowen technique is described as a soft tissue remedial therapy, the therapist uses fingers or thumbs to apply pain-free, gentle rolling moves over muscle, ligament, tendon and other connective tissues in specific parts of the body
Other: Bowen Technique
The Bowen Technique involves the application of gentle rolling motions on specific target muscles or connective tissues using the fingers and thumbs, typically ranging from fifteen to forty-five minutes per session,

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Goniometer
Time Frame: Baseline and 4th week
Goniometer is easily accessible and is an important tool for measuring range of motion of different joints. To measure DFROM using a goniometer, participants were instructed to lay supine and with the knee straight and actively dorsiflex their ankles to end of range by bringing their toes up towards their head. For angle measurement, the axis center of the goniometer was placed on the most prominent point of the lateral malleolus, with the fixed arm of the goniometer along with the leg, and the movable arm parallel with the sole of the foot
Baseline and 4th week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
WBLT (knee to wall test)
Time Frame: Baseline and 4th week

A tape measure was used.

  1. stand facing a wall with about 10cm between participant's big toe and wall.
  2. move one foot backward so it is about a foot behind the leg investigator is testing.(one leg at a time)
  3. now bend front knee until the kneecap touches the wall, keeping the heel on ground.
  4. If participant's knee cannot reach the wall without heel coming off ground, inch participant's foot closer to the wall and try again.
  5. If participant's knee was able to touch the wall too easily with the 10cm set up without heel coming off the ground, move foot further away from wall and try again.
  6. repeat step 4 or 5 until participant can just touch kneecap to the wall while heel stays on ground.
  7. Measure and record the distance between wall and big toe. Do repeat the test on the other leg. Smaller than 9-10cm is considered a restricted, shortened calf muscle.
Baseline and 4th week

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Rashid Latif Medical College

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 10, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 12, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
January 12, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 18, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 18, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 22, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 22, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB/2024/158

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The data will be shared on request.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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