None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Over the past ten years several research groups have demonstrated that spinal manipulation can change various aspects of nervous system function, including altered motor control, cognitive processing, reaction time, and the speed at which the brain processes information. Although motor control is altered after spinal manipulation, it is not yet clear if these alterations result in clinically significant changes to outcomes that are important for functional performance. A basic understanding of the mechanisms behind such changes needs further research. Various neurophysiological techniques can be utilized to study specific types of underlying mechanisms. In recent years, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been utilized to gain a better understanding of muscle function. This proposed study will build on our previous work by investigating whether spinal manipulation influences muscles hemodynamic kinetics using NIRS. This randomised controlled trial will be conducted at the Centre for Chiropractic Research at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic. A within--subject crossover design with a one--week washout period between interventions will be used to assess 15 subjects.
Interventions
The intervention is a single session of chiropractic care for the intervention group. The session will take approximately ten minutes. The entire spine and both sacroiliac joints will be assessed for segmental dysfunction, and treated where deemed necessary by a registered chiropractor with fifteen years clinical experience. The clinical indicators that will be used to assess the function of the spine prior to and after each spinal manipulation intervention include assessing for tenderness to pa
The intervention is a single session of chiropractic care for the intervention group. The session will take approximately ten minutes. The entire spine and both sacroiliac joints will be assessed for segmental dysfunction, and treated where deemed necessary by a registered chiropractor with fifteen years clinical experience. The clinical indicators that will be used to assess the function of the spine prior to and after each spinal manipulation intervention include assessing for tenderness to palpation of the relevant joints, manually palpating for restricted intersegmental range of motion, assessing for palpable asymmetric intervertebral muscle tension, and any abnormal or blocked joint play and end--feel of the joints. All of these biomechanical characteristics are used by the chiropractors as clinical indicators of spinal dysfunction. All of the spinal manipulations carried out in this study will be high--velocity, low--amplitude thrusts to the spine or pelvic joints. This is a standard manipulation technique used by chiropractors, and is also referred to as spinal adjustments. The mechanical properties of this intervention have been investigated; and although the actual force applied to the subject's spine depends on the therapist, the patient, and the spinal location of the manipulation, the general shape of the force--time history of spinal manipulations is very consistent and the duration of the thrust is always less than 200 milliseconds. The high--velocity type of manipulation is chosen specifically because previous research has shown that reflex electromyographic activation observed after manipulations only occurred after high-- velocity, low--amplitude manipulations (as compared with lower--velocity mobilizations). This manipulation technique has also been previously used in studies that have investigated the neurophysiological effects of spinal manipulation. The washout period for this project is 1 week.
Sponsors
New Zealand College of Chiropractic
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Crossover
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
15 subclinical pain subjects will be recruited via advertising within the New Zealand College of Chiropractic community. Participants may include students, staff, faculty, and previous patients of the College’s chiropractic centre and also family, friends and acquaintances of the New Zealand College of Chiropractic community. Subjects will be eligible for inclusion if they are English speaking, aged 18-50, and have previously sought chiropractic care, and have some history of recurring spinal dysfunction such as mild pain, ache, and/or stiffness with or without a history of known trauma.
Exclusion criteria
Subjects will be ineligible to participate if they exhibit no evidence of vertebral subluxations, have absolute contraindications to spinal adjustment, have experienced previous significant adverse reactions to chiropractic care, or they are suffering from a current lower limb disorder/dysfunction that would make them unable to carry out data recording sessions (e.g. sprain/strain/fracture), and if they have sought treatment for the subclinical pain symptoms.
Outcome results
None listed