RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To analyse the acute effects of spinal manipulation on neuromuscular function in asymptomatic individuals. DESIGN: Randomised controlled, cross-over trial. SETTINGS: Spinal manipulation (SM) is used as therapeutic modality for various neuromuscular disorders and also in sport with asymptomatic individuals to improve range of motion and/or facilitate motor control. Experimental evidence of its effectiveness is lacking. PARTICIPANTS: 27 asymptomatic participants (15 males and 12 females) [age (mean ± standard deviation) 24 ± 3 years] were exposed to three separate treatments in random order: 1) Spinal Manipulation of the lumbar spine (MAN); 2) Stretching of the Lumbar spine (STR); 3) sham manipulation (SHA). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Before (PRE), after (POST) and 15 min after (15_MIN) each treatment, the participants were asked to perform three tasks always in the same order: 1) force fluctuation task; 2) Modified Sörensen's test; 3) sit and reach. Surface EMG was recorded from Gastrocnemius medialis and Erector Spinae muscles using linear arrays during task 1 and 2. RESULTS: MAN was not shown to determine improvements superior to other treatments in the control of force output and sEMG parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Studies with larger populations are needed in order to ascertain the effectiveness of SM on neuromuscular function.
