Osteopathy Treatment and Cardiovascular Recovery After a Rugby Match

Osteopathy Treatment Restores Cardiovascular Autonomic Parameters in Rugby Players

The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), a form of non-invasive manual treatment, for a faster recovery of cardiovascular parameters after a rugby union match in professional male athletes. To this end, the effects of OMT on resting cardiovascular function and cardiovascular reactivity were evaluated in twenty-three male players 18-20 hours after a match and compared with a corresponding no-match (control) condition. Assessment of resting cardiovascular parameters 18-20 hours after a match revealed the presence of elevated mean arterial pressure and heart rate, and reduced vagally-mediated heart rate variability compared with a no-match condition. OMT provoked a significant reduction in mean arterial pressure and increased vagally-mediated heart rate variability at rest both in the after match and control conditions. Moreover, OMT favoured a larger vagal withdrawal in response to an orthostatic stress compared with a sham treatment. These results suggest that OMT may be implemented as a recovery strategy to restore athletes' cardiovascular homeostasis after a rugby union match.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Osteopathic manipulative treatment; Other: Sham treatment

Detailed Description

The presence of cardiovascular autonomic alterations in the aftermath of an intense exercise performed during a competitive match may indicate incomplete recovery and prolonged fatigue.Therefore, the implementation of effective interventions aimed at favoring a faster recovery of athletes' cardiovascular homeostasis in the aftermath of a competitive match may be beneficial for greater adaptations to subsequent training and enhanced overall performance. In this regard, osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is a form of non-invasive manual treatment that uses a set of touch, manipulation and mobilization procedures to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness or injury. In the present study, the investigators sought to explore the efficacy of a single session of OMT in restoring alterations in cardiovascular parameters at rest and in response to an orthostatic challenge in trained adult male athletes long after (18-20 hours) a rugby union match.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 26
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Parma, Italy
    • Collegio Italiano di Osteopatia

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• being healthy and injury-free
• age ≥ 18 years old
• being Caucasian
• regular participation in competitive matches of rugby union consisting of 2, 40-min halves
• regular training for an average of six hours/week during the last four weeks

Exclusion Criteria:

• history of cardiovascular disease or traumatic brain injury
• chronic drug treatment
• use of any medications during the last week
• having received osteopathic manipulative treatment before

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: CROSSOVER
• Masking: TRIPLE

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
OTHER: AFTER MATCH + OMT; Players undertook a recording session the day after a rugby match and received osteopathic manipulative treatment	Other: Osteopathic manipulative treatment; Each osteopathic manipulative treatment consisted of a structured evaluation to diagnose somatic dysfunction of the pelvis, abdomen, vertebral spine, and upper and lower limbs (10 min), followed by the therapeutic application of manually guided forces to improve physiological function and homeostasis that has been altered by somatic dysfunction for 20 min, using techniques that were left at the discretion of the osteopath, including the myofascial release and cranial sacrum techniques
OTHER: AFTER MATCH + sham treatment; Players undertook a recording session the day after a rugby match and received sham treatment	Other: Sham treatment; The sham treatment consisted only in "soft touch" of the same body areas involved in the osteopathic manipulative treatment protocol without applying any pressure
OTHER: NO MATCH + OMT; Players undertook a recording session the day after a resting day and received osteopathic manipulative treatment	Other: Osteopathic manipulative treatment; Each osteopathic manipulative treatment consisted of a structured evaluation to diagnose somatic dysfunction of the pelvis, abdomen, vertebral spine, and upper and lower limbs (10 min), followed by the therapeutic application of manually guided forces to improve physiological function and homeostasis that has been altered by somatic dysfunction for 20 min, using techniques that were left at the discretion of the osteopath, including the myofascial release and cranial sacrum techniques
OTHER: NO MATCH + sham treatment; Players undertook a recording session the day after a resting day and received sham treatment	Other: Sham treatment; The sham treatment consisted only in "soft touch" of the same body areas involved in the osteopathic manipulative treatment protocol without applying any pressure

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Resting heart rate	Mean heart rate measured as beats per minute	ECG recorded for 10 min just before osteopathic manipulative treatment and sham treatment
Resting heart rate	Mean heart rate measured as beats per minute	ECG recorded for 5 min just after osteopathic manipulative treatment and sham treatment
Resting heart rate variability (RMSSD index)	Root mean square of the successive differences between adjacent heart beats (RMSSD) measured in ms	ECG recorded for 10 min just before osteopathic manipulative treatment and sham treatment
Resting heart rate variability (RMSSD index)	Root mean square of the successive differences between adjacent heart beats (RMSSD) measured in ms	ECG recorded for 5 min just after osteopathic manipulative treatment and sham treatment
Resting heart rate variability (HF index)	High frequency (HF) component power of the RR interval spectrum measured in ms2	ECG recorded for 10 min just before osteopathic manipulative treatment and sham treatment
Resting heart rate variability (HF index)	High frequency (HF) component power of the RR interval spectrum measured in ms2	ECG recorded for 5 min just after osteopathic manipulative treatment and sham treatment
Resting mean arterial pressure	Mean arterial pressure measured in mmHg	Assessed just before osteopathic manipulative treatment and sham treatment with a sphygmomanometer
Resting mean arterial pressure	Mean arterial pressure measured in mmHg	Assessed just after osteopathic manipulative treatment and sham treatment with a sphygmomanometer

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Heart rate reactivity to orthostasis	Mean heart rate measured as beats per minute	ECG recorded for 10 min during orthostasis (5 min) and subsequent recovery (5 min)
Heart rate variability (RMSSD index) reactivity to orthostasis	Root mean square of the successive differences between adjacent heart beats measured in ms	ECG recorded for 10 min during orthostasis (5 min) and subsequent recovery (5 min)
Heart rate variability (HF index) reactivity to orthostasis	High frequency component power of the RR interval spectrum measured in ms2	ECG recorded for 10 min during orthostasis (5 min) and subsequent recovery (5 min)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Parma
• Collaborators: Collegio Italiano di Osteopatia; Foundation COME Collaboration

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): October 1, 2017
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): May 1, 2018
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): May 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 21, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 22, 2020
• First Posted (ACTUAL): January 27, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): January 27, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 22, 2020
• Last Verified: January 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: recovery; blood pressure; heart rate variability; heart rate; osteopathy; rugby match; atlethes
• Other Study ID Numbers: 032017

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No