Effects of Cervical Manipulation on Cervical Rotation Motion and Shoulder Rotational Motion and Strength in Overhead Athletes

September 2, 2025 updated by: Jason Grimes, PT, PhD, OCS, ATC, Sacred Heart University

Effects of Cervical Manipulation on Cervical Rotation Range of Motion and Shoulder Rotational Range of Motion and Strength in Overhead Athletes

This study will examine the effects of a single session of a quick stretch technique delivered to the neck on neck and shoulder motion as well as shoulder strength in collegiate overhead athletes.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Athletes participating in sports such as baseball, softball, tennis, swimming, and volleyball, are uniquely predisposed to cervical and shoulder dysfunction due to repetitive, high-intensity movements that require coordination between the cervical spine, shoulder, and upper extremities. These repetitive motions involve extreme glenohumeral (GH) range of motion (ROM) as well as high angular velocities, often leading to adaptations such as Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficit (GIRD). Overhead athletes with GIRD are at a higher risk of developing shoulder injuries.

This study aims to assess the effects of cervical spinal manipulation on cervical rotation ROM, GH rotational ROM and strength in overhead athletes. The current body of literature suggests an association between cervical rotation ROM deficits and arm injury risk in professional and collegiate-level baseball players. Restrictions in the cervical spine may alter neural and muscular pathways, potentially contributing to decreased shoulder ROM, compromised strength, and impaired performance. Given the complex interplay of cervical spine and shoulder function, understanding how cervical manipulation impacts the kinetic chain can play a vital role in developing shoulder rehabilitation and preventative programs for overhead athletes.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

20

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
    • Connecticut
      • Fairfield, Connecticut, United States, 06825
        • Sacred Heart University

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 years old and above
  • Current overhead college athlete
  • No mental health considerations such as generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, and schizophrenia

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Upper extremity surgery in the last year
  • Current shoulder pain
  • Current neck pain
  • Recent episodes of vertigo, dizziness, and migraines
  • Recent motor vehicle accident
  • History of cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, heart attack, stroke, coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, arrhythmias, heart valve disease, congenital heart defects, and aortic aneurysm
  • Fear or unwillingness to undergo cervical manipulation

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cervical manipulation
All participants will be enrolled in the experimental group
Other: cervical manipulation
Cervical upglide/rotation manipulation targeted to C5/C6 on the dominant shoulder side

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Cervical rotation active range of motion
Time Frame: from baseline to immediately post-intervention
Cervical rotation active ROM will be measured using the Cervical Range of Motion (CROM) device
from baseline to immediately post-intervention
Shoulder Rotational range of motion
Time Frame: from baseline to immediately post-intervention
Dominant shoulder external rotation and internal rotation passive ROM at 90° of shoulder abduction will be measured using a digital inclinometer
from baseline to immediately post-intervention
Shoulder Rotational strength
Time Frame: from baseline to immediately post-intervention
Dominant shoulder external rotation and internal rotation strength will be measured using the Hoggan MicroFET2 handheld dynamometer
from baseline to immediately post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Sacred Heart University

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 (Actual)

April 7, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 13, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

May 13, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 25, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 25, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

April 1, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

September 3, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 2, 2025

Last Verified

August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB-FY2025-216

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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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