Effect of Attentional Touch in Stabilometric Assessments

Low Term Effect of Attentional Touch on Sway Rate Variation of CoP in Asymptomatic Subjects: a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Postural balance has been studied in the literature and ideal body mass distribution has been shown to provide stability to the body in an upright position. The use of stabilometry to assess posture is a standard in clinical practice and medical research. In the literature we find osteopathic treatment evaluated with stabilometry in specific pathological conditions. We will experiment on asymptomatic volunteers how attentive touch is effective compared to non-attentive touch and compared to an untreated group by measuring specific parameters that indicate postural balance.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Postural Balance
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: TOUCH ATTENTIVE TREATMENT; Other: AUDITORY ATTENTIVE TREATMENT

Detailed Description

Stabilometry measurements will be taken on asymptomatic volunteers before and after several specific treatments, in particular to measure whether the variance in sway speed is reduced after the treatments. The effect of attentional versus non-attentional touch will be compared in the other two groups, in addition to a control group that receives no treatment.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 210
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Roberto Bettoni, Bsc; Phone Number: +393388824735; Email: osteopatabettoni@gmail.com

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Mantova, Italy, 46100
    • Studio osteopatico Bettoni

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• aymptomatics

Exclusion Criteria:

• serious illnesses
• balance disorders
• recent trauma (within 2 years) to the lower limbs

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: TOUCH ATTENTIVE TREATMENT; 15 minutes of osteopathic treatment with operator's touch attention	Other: TOUCH ATTENTIVE TREATMENT; 15-minute treatment using constant touch (0.20 N, approx. 20 grams) developed after training with visual feedback.; 5 minutes bilateral touch on external malleolus; 5 minutes longitudinal occipital front grip for reciprocal tension membrane movement and Sutherland's fulcrum; 5 minutes bilateral touch on acromion, for midline, centring diaphragms Throughout the treatment, the practitioner maintained a focused attention on touch by voluntarily and constantly directing attention to the sensation/perception of the hands, perceiving texture, density, temperature, reactivity and motility of the tissue.
Sham Comparator: AUDITORY ATTENTIVE TREATMENT; 15 minutes of osteopathic treatment with operator's auditory attention	Other: AUDITORY ATTENTIVE TREATMENT; 15-minute treatment using constant touch (0.20 N, approx. 20 grams) developed after training with visual feedback.; 5 minutes bilateral touch on external malleolus; 5 minutes longitudinal occipital front grip for reciprocal tension membrane movement and Sutherland's fulcrum; 5 minutes bilateral touch on acromion, for midline, centring diaphragms During the treatment, the operator's attention was focused on acoustic signals delivered through earphones. The beeps were delivered at random intervals between 0.5 and 2.0 seconds. The operator had to count the number of acoustic signals produced during the treatment period.
No Intervention: CONTROL; The volunteers lay for 15 minutes in the same environment as the volunteers in the other two groups, without being touched in any way.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
the velocity variation of the displacement of the centre of pressure (CoP).	The variable is measured with a stabilometric scale (Cyber Sabots) by sampling the signal at 40 Hz.	baseline
the velocity variation of the displacement of the centre of pressure (CoP).	The variable is measured with a stabilometric scale (Cyber Sabots) by sampling the signal at 40 Hz.	30 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Accademia Italiana Medicina Osteopatica

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 20, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): January 20, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 4, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 30, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): October 4, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 26, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 25, 2024
• Last Verified: January 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 003 (NuSkin International)

Drug and device information, study documents

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