The Effects of Spinal Manipulation on Thigh Muscle Strength

March 31, 2015 updated by: Grant Sanders

The Effects of Lumbosacral Manipulation on Isokinetic Strength of the Knee Extensors and Flexors

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of chiropractic low back adjustments on thigh muscle strength. Force production was measured during different types of muscle contractions with a device called an isokinetic dynamometer. The study included 21 college-aged subjects who did not have any pain and had never received chiropractic treatment with spinal manipulation. During two separate sessions, subjects' thigh muscle forces were recorded while performing maximal muscle contractions on the isokinetic dynamometer. Baseline measurements of muscle force were acquired before either treatment form of spinal manipulation or a sham spinal manipulation, followed by identical muscle force measurements within five and twenty minutes post-treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Spinal manipulation is a therapeutic procedure employed by various healthcare practitioners for alleviating acute and chronic musculoskeletal complaints. This form of treatment is also delivered to enhance the performance and augment the rehabilitation of athletes. However, despite research findings alleging the strength-modulating effects of spinal manipulation alongside numerous professional athletes' positive anecdotal claims concerning its results, the physiological processes to explain its effects remain largely unexplained. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to investigate the effects of spinal manipulation in a college-aged sample population.

This study examined the effect of spinal manipulation delivered to the lumbosacral region on concentric force production of the knee extensors and flexors. A randomized, controlled, single-blind repeated measures design was utilized with 21 subjects. Isometric and isokinetic peak torques (Nm) were recorded during two separate session while subjects performed maximal voluntary contractions post-treatment of either spinal manipulation or a sham manipulation.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

21

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

Ages Eligible for Study

20 years to 35 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Between the ages of 20 to 35 years
  • Asymptomatic with regard to low back, pelvic or lower extremity pain

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Previously received spinal manipulation from a chiropractor or other health care provider
  • Contraindications to lumbar spine manipulation (such as fractures, lumbar disc herniation, abdominal aortic aneurysm or cauda equina syndrome)

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Spinal Manipulation
In a repeated measures, crossover design, all subjects received spinal manipulation during the second or third session. The selection of spinal manipulation or sham was randomized.
Side-posture, high-velocity low-amplitude spinal manipulation targeting the lumbar spine and sacroiliac joints
Sham Comparator: Sham Manipulation
In a repeated measures, crossover design, all subjects received the sham manipulation during the second or third session. The selection of spinal manipulation or sham was randomized.
A simulated lumbar spine manipulation in which no vertebral contact was made

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in isometric and isokinetic peak torques compared to baseline
Time Frame: Baseline peak torque measurements were acquired before either treatment form of lumbosacral manipulation or sham manipulation, followed by identical peak torque measurements recorded within 5 minutes and at 20 minutes post-treatment
Peak torque measurements were recorded in newton meters (Nm) while subjects performed maximal voluntary contractions of concentric knee extension and flexion during a randomized protocol of isometric and isokinetic contractions, all of which measured with an isokinetic dynamometer
Baseline peak torque measurements were acquired before either treatment form of lumbosacral manipulation or sham manipulation, followed by identical peak torque measurements recorded within 5 minutes and at 20 minutes post-treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Grant D Sanders, D.C., University Of Kentucky

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

April 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 23, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 31, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

April 3, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

April 3, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 31, 2015

Last Verified

March 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 12-0280-F1V

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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