Comparing the Reciprocal Inhibition Method and Post-isometric Inhibition Method of Muscle Energy Technique on the Spinal Reflex Excitability in Healthy Subjects

March 30, 2020 updated by: Mohammad(Reza) Nourbakhsh, University of North Georgia
This a cross-over study to compare the effect of two different muscle energy techniques (MET) including post-isometric inhibition and reciprocal inhibition on the spinal reflex excitability. The study contains two experimental groups, while one group will receive post-isometric inhibition MET in the first stage and reciprocal inhibition MET in the second stage, the other group will receive reciprocal inhibition MET in the first stage and post-isometric inhibition MET in the second stage.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Reciprocal inhibition MET works based on the two mechanisms a) voluntary activation of agonist muscle that is simultaneously accompanied by the inhibition of the antagonist muscles or b) the activation of muscle spindle which causes a reflexive contraction in the agonist muscle (known as the stretch reflex) and relaxation of the antagonist muscles. By using this method, the activation of agonist muscles may inhibit or deactivate the antagonist muscles which may permit the therapist to introduce further ROM to the affected joint.

The other method of MET is post-isometric relaxation which works based on the two mechanisms including; 1) activation of Golgi Tendon Organs (GTO) that located between the muscle belly and its tendon and 2) presetting muscle spindles by muscle contraction witch project information to the spinal cord via afferent type II fibers and through a complex central control systems, the spindle is preset to adjust the tone of the muscle. It seems that moderate isometric contraction of muscle may preset the muscle spindle and cause a post-isometric relaxation within the agonist muscles which now can be stretched further, and this may permit the therapist to introduce further ROM to the affected joint and help to improve joint mobilization.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

30

Phase

  • 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

  • United States
    • Georgia
      • Dahlonega, Georgia, United States, 30597
        • Recruiting
        • University of North Georgia
        • Contact:

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

18 years to 30 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • without current low back pain

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Suffering from pain in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine,
  • Presenting signs of radiculopathy or peripheral neuropathy such as specific patterns of numbness and muscle weakness,
  • Any history or signs of joint instability, healing fractures, malignancy, open wounds, sutures, severe rheumatoid arthritis.

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: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental RI-PI
They receive the Reciprocal Inhibition (RI) technique in the first stage and then the Post-isometric Inhibition (PI) technique in the second stage.
Other: Reciprocal Inhibition Muscle Energy Technique
In this technique, the subject will be asked to contract antagonist muscles against a moderate resistant force provided by the therapist to inhibit the contraction of the agonist muscle.
Other: Post-Isometric Inhibition Muscle Energy Technique
In this technique, the subject will be asked to contract agonist muscles against a moderate resistant force provided by the therapist to inhibit the contraction of the agonist muscle.
Experimental: Experimental PI-RI
They receive the Post-isometric Inhibition (PI) technique in the first stage and then the Reciprocal Inhibition (RI) technique in the second stage.
Other: Reciprocal Inhibition Muscle Energy Technique
In this technique, the subject will be asked to contract antagonist muscles against a moderate resistant force provided by the therapist to inhibit the contraction of the agonist muscle.
Other: Post-Isometric Inhibition Muscle Energy Technique
In this technique, the subject will be asked to contract agonist muscles against a moderate resistant force provided by the therapist to inhibit the contraction of the agonist muscle.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in H Reflex Amplitude
Time Frame: First measurement (Base-line), second measurement after 30 minutes (Pre-test), third measurement after 20 minutes (first post-test), forth measurement after 20 minutes (second post-test)
H reflex or Hoffman's reflex is a refectory reaction of muscles after electrical stimulation of sensory fibers (Ia afferent from muscle spindles) in their innervated nerves (here is Tibial N),
First measurement (Base-line), second measurement after 30 minutes (Pre-test), third measurement after 20 minutes (first post-test), forth measurement after 20 minutes (second post-test)
Change in M wave Amplitude
Time Frame: First measurement (Base-line), second measurement after 30 minutes (Pre-test), third measurement after 20 minutes (first post-test), forth measurement after 20 minutes (second post-test)
M- wave is a compound muscle action potential, which is produce by the electrical stimulation of motor nerve fibers (here is Tibial N)
First measurement (Base-line), second measurement after 30 minutes (Pre-test), third measurement after 20 minutes (first post-test), forth measurement after 20 minutes (second post-test)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of North Georgia

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Mohammad R Nourbakhsh, Professor of physical therapy

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 (Anticipated)

June 6, 2020

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

August 15, 2020

Study Completion (Anticipated)

September 30, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 5, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 6, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

June 10, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 31, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 30, 2020

Last Verified

March 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB 2019-026

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

IPD Plan Description

No Plan to share individual participant data to other researchers.

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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