NCT03736148

Effects of Manual vs Instrument-assisted Manipulation on Electromyographic Activity and Sympathetic Nervous System

Acute Effects of Manual vs Instrument-assisted Single Cervical Manipulation on Electromyographic Activity and Sympathetic Nervous System

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 75 (actual)
• Sponsor: Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde do Porto · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study evaluates the effects of manual and instrument-assisted cervical manipulation on electromyographic activity and sympathetic nervous system. Subjects were divided in four groups, one group was submitted to a manual cervical manipulation, other group was submitted to an instrument-assisted cervical manipulation, other group was submitted to a sham manipulation and another group served as control.

Detailed description

The manual manipulation was applied over C3/C4, as the participants were positioned in supine with the cervical spine in a neutral position. Slight ipsilateral side flexion and contralateral rotation were introduced until tension was perceived in the tissues at the contact point. A high-velocity, low-amplitude thrust manipulation was directed upward and medially in the direction of the subject's contralateral eye. The instrument-assisted manipulation was applied using a handheld Activator IV Adjusting Instrument. Contacts were made firm enough to prevent slipping of the rubber tip but not so firm as to load the spring, in consistence with customary clinical use of the instrument. The spring was then loaded by means of the instrument's trigger mechanism, and the impulse was delivered in an anterosuperior direction, over the posterolateral aspect of the vertebra on the right lamina-pedicle junction of C3. The sham manipulation to the right C3/C4 segment was administered using the same 'set-up' as for the manual manipulation; however, once the barrier was engaged, the head was re-positioned to neutral with no thrust applied. The control group individuals were positioned supine for the same twenty minutes as the other groups and they received no manual contact.

Conditions

• Healthy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Manual Manipulation	Subject was in supine position, and the therapist applied a manual manipulation with right side bending and left rotation of the neck.
OTHER	Instrument-assisted Manipulation	The instrument-assisted manipulation was applied using a handheld Activator IV Adjusting Instrument. Contacts were made firm enough to prevent slipping of the rubber tip but not so firm as to load the spring, in consistence with customary clinical use of the instrument. The spring was then loaded by means of the instrument's trigger mechanism, and the impulse was delivered in an anterosuperior direction, over the posterolateral aspect of the vertebra on the right lamina-pedicle junction of C3.
OTHER	Placebo	Subject was in supine position, and the therapist placed ths subject's cervical with right side bending and left rotation but no manual manipulation was applied.

Timeline

• Start date: 2015-01-20
• Primary completion: 2015-07-21
• Completion: 2015-12-03
• First posted: 2018-11-08
• Last updated: 2018-11-08