Abstract
Background: A number of studies have investigated vertebral artery flow velocity. Because perfusion
relates to the volume of blood flowing through the vessel, this parameter is of great
importance when vertebral artery hemodynamics are investigated. We could not find
any such Doppler studies in the literature, possibly because of known errors with
previous techniques. New advanced color-coded duplex sonography has since been validated
and may be used with confidence for volume flow investigations. Objective: To use advanced color-coded duplex sonography to investigate volume flow through
the vertebral arteries during cervical rotation, as well as before and after spinal
manipulation therapy. Design and Setting: A randomized controlled study at a university hospital vascular laboratory. Participants: Twenty university students. Results: Volume blood flow through the vertebral arteries does not change with cervical rotation
or after spinal manipulation therapy. Conclusion: This appears to be the first in vivo Doppler study on human vertebral artery volume
blood flow. Our results indicate that in symptom-free subjects there is no change
in vertebral artery perfusion during rotation in spite of significant changes in flow
velocity. This finding, as well as the observed changes in flow velocity reported
by others, may be explained by a positional change in the vertebral artery diameter.
In addition, we have investigated volume blood flow in the vertebral arteries before
or after spinal manipulation therapy but found no significant changes. (J Manipulative
Physiol Ther 1999;22:363–7)
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Received:
September 15,
1998
Footnotes
☆Submit reprint requests to: Peter B. Licht, MD, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Odense University Hospital, DK-5000 Odense, Denmark. E-mail: [email protected]
Identification
Copyright
© 1999 JMPT. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
