Abstract
Objective
The purpose of this study was to investigate if spinal manipulative therapy (SMT)
can evoke immediate regional antinociceptive effects in myofascial tissues by increasing
pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) over myofascial trigger points in healthy young adults.
Methods
A total of 36 participants (19 men, 17 women; age, 28.0 [5.3] years; body mass index,
26.5 [5.7] kg/m2) with clinically identifiable myofascial trigger points in the infraspinatus and
gluteus medius muscles were recruited from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Participants were randomly allocated to 2 groups. Participants in the test group received
chiropractic SMT targeted to the C5-C6 spinal segment. Participants in the control
group received sham SMT. The PPT was recorded from the right infraspinatus and gluteus
medius muscles at baseline (preintervention) and 1, 5, 10, and 15 minutes postintervention.
Results
Three participants were disqualified, resulting in a total of 33 participants analyzed.
Significant increases in the PPT (decreased pain sensitivity) were observed in the
test infraspinatus group when compared with test gluteus medius, control infraspinatus,
and control gluteus medius groups (P < .05). No significant differences in PPT were observed at any time point when comparing
test gluteus medius, control infraspinatus, and control gluteus medius groups (P > .05).
Conclusions
This study showed that SMT evokes short-term regional increases in PPT within myofascial
tissues in healthy young adults.
Key Indexing Terms
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 08, 2013
Accepted:
January 15,
2013
Received in revised form:
January 15,
2013
Received:
May 5,
2012
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 National University of Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
