NCT04391777

Determine the Effect of the Fourth Ventricle Compression Technique on Physiological Variables

Determine the Effect of the Fourth Ventricle Compression Technique on Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, Blood Pressure, Thermal Variation and Skin Conductivity in Healthy Young Adults: a Randomized Clinical Study

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 60 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde do Porto · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 33 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study aims to analyze the influence of the fourth ventricle compression technique in heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, conductivity and thermal variability of the skin in healthy young adults.

Detailed description

The fourth ventricle compression technique (CV-4) is one of the most important techniques in the treatment of cranial osteopathy. During the present study, the effects of CV-4 technique will be analyzed in the following variables: heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, conductivity and thermal variation of the skin. According to the literature, CV-4 technique will cause changes in all of the studied variables, except the respiratory rate, through the activation of the brain stem, namely the parasympathetic nerve centers. Regarding the respiratory rate, it is justified by the fourth ventricle and the respiratory centers proximity. Concerning heart rate and respiratory rate, during the CV-4 technique the literature describes a decrease in the values of this variables. However, other studies refer that the technique does not produce relevant effects in the heart and respiratory rates variation, probably because there was no stipulated time to finish the technique, ending subjectively compared to previous ones. When it comes to blood pressure, a decrease in systolic blood pressure values is noticed by some authors. In which concerns the variation in body temperature, according to the literature, there were no significant results obtained when performing CV-4. During the performed literature analysis,there were not found any studies concerning the influences of the CV-4 technique in the thermal conductivity variable.

Conditions

• Healthy Young Adults

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Fourth ventricle compression technique (CV-4)	The participant is in the supine position and the principal investigator is seated at the patient's head, with elbows resting on the table. The main investigator overlaps his hands with the thenar eminences, contacting the occipital bone squamous part, between the external occipital protuberance and the participant's occipito-mastoid suture. The technique begins with a maintained compression on the occipital squamous part during a deep thorax exhalation. Throughout the compression of the occipital bone and the participant's voluntary inspirations, the principal investigator feels a gradual pressure increase at the thenar eminences. The technique will be performed until reaching the still point, in which the mobility of the occipital bone, respiratory rate and muscle tone decrease, or until 5 minutes elapsed.
OTHER	Sham	The main investigator uses the technique contact but does not perform any type of tissue traction or compression, maintaining this contact for 5 minutes. At the end of the stipulated time, the contact is removed in a subtle way.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-09-01
• Primary completion: 2024-12-01
• Completion: 2024-12-01
• First posted: 2020-05-18
• Last updated: 2024-04-02

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Portugal