Acute Responses of Postural Alignment, Kinematic Synergy, and Intermuscular Coherence to Postural Muscle Facilitation

Clinicians frequently assess and intervene on postural alignment. However, research demonstrating the effects of exercise interventions in moving postural alignment toward an evidence-based standard is lacking. Part of the difficulty in establishing such evidence has been a lack of theory-motivated conceptions of what "good" posture is. In other words, the prevailing understanding of postural alignment is based on the negation of what has been observed to associate with bad outcomes. This study will build upon preliminary findings from our laboratory that define good postural alignment on theoretical grounds. The investigators will measure motion capture and muscle activation patterns during simple postural alignment tasks before and after 1) a corrective exercise intervention, or 2) a control intervention based designed to inhibit superficial muscle tension. The corrective exercise intervention is designed to counteract the natural patterns in which the human skeleton tends to collapse from a standing position under the influence of gravity. The control intervention consists of passive, partner-assisted stretching. Regardless of initial assignment, all participants will crossover (i.e. switch interventions) and repeat the study procedures after a 1-week washout period. Behavioral indicators of movement and nervous system coordination will be used to quantify alignment before and after exercise, as well as the consistency of those alignment patterns with theoretically-defined standards. The knowledge gained from this study will contribute to evidence-based definitions of healthy postural alignment and help identify effective interventions by which clinicians can promote good posture.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Kinematics; Musculoskeletal Equilibrium; Posture; Electromyography
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Exercise Then Stretch; Other: Stretch Then Exercise

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 15
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Stephen M Glass, PhD; Phone Number: 540-831-1959; Email: smglass1@radford.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Virginia
    • Roanoke, Virginia, United States, 24013
      • Recruiting
      • Radford University Carilion
      • Contact: Stephen M Glass, PhD; Phone Number: 540-831-1959; Email: smglass1@radford.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 40 years (ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy adult
• 18 - 40 years of age

Exclusion Criteria:

• Recent (< 6 months) history of lower extremity injury
• Recent (< 6 months) history of other musculoskeletal or neurological disorder affecting balance
• Contraindications to participation in physical activity

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: CROSSOVER
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
OTHER: Exercise Then Stretch; Participants in AB will perform the experimental (exercise) intervention first and the control (stretch) intervention second	Other: Exercise Then Stretch; This arm (sequence) will perform an anti-gravity kinetic chain intervention and then a passive, partner-assisted stretching intervention, separated by a one-week washout period.; Other: Stretch Then Exercise; This arm (sequence) will perform a passive, partner-assisted stretching intervention and then an anti-gravity kinetic chain intervention , separated by a one-week washout period.
OTHER: Stretch Then Exercise; Participants in BA will perform the experimental (exercise) intervention second and the control (stretch) intervention first	Other: Exercise Then Stretch; This arm (sequence) will perform an anti-gravity kinetic chain intervention and then a passive, partner-assisted stretching intervention, separated by a one-week washout period.; Other: Stretch Then Exercise; This arm (sequence) will perform a passive, partner-assisted stretching intervention and then an anti-gravity kinetic chain intervention , separated by a one-week washout period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Euclidean distance from the vector describing subject-specific, simulated gravitational collapse	This outcome is a cumulative descriptor of segment angle distance from the pattern in which an individual's posture would collapse. The reference point for each individual is calculated using both pre and post-intervention data for a given day.	Immediately before Intervention (Day 1)
Euclidean distance from the vector describing subject-specific, simulated gravitational collapse	This outcome is a cumulative descriptor of segment angle distance from the pattern in which an individual's posture would collapse. The reference point for each individual is calculated using both pre and post-intervention data for a given day.	Immediately after Intervention (Day 1)
Euclidean distance from the vector describing subject-specific, simulated gravitational collapse	This outcome is a cumulative descriptor of segment angle distance from the pattern in which an individual's posture would collapse. The reference point for each individual is calculated using both pre and post-intervention data for a given day.	Immediately before Intervention (Day 7)
Euclidean distance from the vector describing subject-specific, simulated gravitational collapse	This outcome is a cumulative descriptor of segment angle distance from the pattern in which an individual's posture would collapse. The reference point for each individual is calculated using both pre and post-intervention data for a given day.	Immediately after Intervention (Day 7)
Pooled intermuscular coherence	Weighted average of frequency-domain correlations between muscle pairs belonging to anterior, posterior, and trunk muscle groups.	Immediately before Intervention (Day 1)
Pooled intermuscular coherence	Weighted average of frequency-domain correlations between muscle pairs belonging to anterior, posterior, and trunk muscle groups.	Immediately after Intervention (Day 1)
Pooled intermuscular coherence	Weighted average of frequency-domain correlations between muscle pairs belonging to anterior, posterior, and trunk muscle groups.	Immediately before Intervention (Day 7)
Pooled intermuscular coherence	Weighted average of frequency-domain correlations between muscle pairs belonging to anterior, posterior, and trunk muscle groups.	Immediately after Intervention (Day 7)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Top-down kinetic chain continuity	The purpose of this outcome is to quantify the communication of motion from the upper body to the lower body. In a test involving placing hands-on-head and pulling the elbows back as far as possible, the response in the lower body is quantified by posterior rotation of the tibial segment.	Immediately before Intervention (Day 1)
Top-down kinetic chain continuity	The purpose of this outcome is to quantify the communication of motion from the upper body to the lower body. In a test involving placing hands-on-head and pulling the elbows back as far as possible, the response in the lower body is quantified by posterior rotation of the tibial segment.	Immediately after Intervention (Day 1)
Top-down kinetic chain continuity	The purpose of this outcome is to quantify the communication of motion from the upper body to the lower body. In a test involving placing hands-on-head and pulling the elbows back as far as possible, the response in the lower body is quantified by posterior rotation of the tibial segment.	Immediately before Intervention (Day 7)
Top-down kinetic chain continuity	The purpose of this outcome is to quantify the communication of motion from the upper body to the lower body. In a test involving placing hands-on-head and pulling the elbows back as far as possible, the response in the lower body is quantified by posterior rotation of the tibial segment.	Immediately after Intervention (Day 7)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Radford University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): October 25, 2022
• Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED): May 1, 2023
• Study Completion (ANTICIPATED): May 1, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 28, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 2, 2022
• First Posted (ACTUAL): November 8, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): November 8, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 2, 2022
• Last Verified: November 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Posture; Intervention; Motor control; Alignment
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2021-288-RUC

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: De-identified raw data for individual participants will be shared upon request with parties committing to institutional data sharing agreements.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: On request and indefinitely.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF; ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

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