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Trial registered on ANZCTR

Registration number

ACTRN12616000089437

Ethics application status

Approved

Date submitted

20/01/2016

Date registered

28/01/2016

Date last updated

10/01/2017

Type of registration

Prospectively registered

Titles & IDs

Public title

The effects of a single session of spinal manipulation on power, strength, and cortical drive in athletes

Scientific title

The effects of a single session of spinal manipulation on power, strength, and cortical drive in Taekwondo athletes

Secondary ID [1]

None

Universal Trial Number (UTN)

Trial acronym

Linked study record

Health condition

Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:

Functional performance, including strength, power, muscle fatigue and cortical drive in an athletic population

Condition category

Condition code

Musculoskeletal

Normal musculoskeletal and cartilage development and function

Neurological

Studies of the normal brain and nervous system

Physical Medicine / Rehabilitation

Other physical medicine / rehabilitation

Intervention/exposure

Study type

Interventional

Description of intervention(s) / exposure

A single session of spinal manipulation as intervention performed by a registered chiropractor. The duration of the session is approximately 30 minutes. The study is a crossover trial with a one week washout period between each treatment. The entire spine and both sacroiliac joints will be assessed for segmental dysfunction, and treated where deemed necessary by a registered chiropractor. The clinical indicators that will be used to assess the function of the spine prior to and after each spinal manipulation intervention include assessing for tenderness to palpation of the relevant joints, manually palpating for restricted intersegmental range of motion, assessing for palpable asymmetric intervertebral muscle tension, and any abnormal or blocked joint play and end-feel of the joints. All of these biomechanical characteristics are used by the chiropractors as clinical indicators of spinal dysfunction. All of the spinal manipulations carried out in this study will be high-velocity, low-amplitude thrusts to the spine or pelvic joints. This is a standard manipulation technique used by chiropractors and is also sometimes referred to as spinal adjustments. The mechanical properties of this intervention have been investigated; and although the actual force applied to the subject's spine depends on the therapist, the patient, and the spinal location of the manipulation, the general shape of the force-time history of spinal manipulations is very consistent and the duration of the thrust is always less than 200 milliseconds. The high-velocity type of manipulation is chosen specifically because previous research has shown that reflex electromyographic activation observed after manipulations only occurred after high-velocity, low-amplitude manipulations (as compared with lower-velocity mobilizations). This manipulation technique has also been previously used in studies that have investigated the neurophysiological effects of spinal manipulation. The chiropractor providing the spinal manipulation will be recording a log of all manipulations performed to monitor adherence.

Intervention code [1]

Treatment: Other

Comparator / control treatment

The subject’s head and/or spine will be moved in ways that include passive and active movements in flexion, extension, lateral flexion, rotation etc., similar to what is done by the chiropractor that provide actual chiropractic treatment during the spinal manipulation intervention. This is intended to act as a sham treatment.

Control group

Placebo

Outcomes

Primary outcome [1]

Change in absolute maximum force of contraction (strength/MVC).
Muscle force, including maximum isometric plantarflexion force, will be measured using an isometric strain gauge (Model MLP100 transducer Techniques Tennecula, California, USA) mounted on a custom-built platform. The athletes will perform three progressive maximum voluntary contractions (MVC) of the ankle plantar flexors of five seconds duration each, separated by two-minutes rest. During the procedure, the athletes will be verbally encouraged to produce maximal force. The highest plantar flexor EMG activity during MVC and absolute force measured in each intervention (spinal manipulation and control intervention) will be used for analysis and to compute the submaximal target contraction levels for H- and M-recruitment curve recordings.

Timepoint [1]