Abstract
Vojta’s therapy is a widely used approach in both the prevention and therapy of musculoskeletal disorders. Changes in the musculoskeletal system have been described repeatedly, but the principles of the approach have not yet been clarified. The objective of our study was to evaluate changes of intracerebral activity using electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) that arise during reflex locomotion stimulation of the breast trigger zone according to Vojta’s therapy. Seventeen healthy women took part in the experiment (aged 20–30 years old). EEG activity was recorded 5 min prior to the reflex locomotion stimulation, during stimulation, and 5 min after the stimulation. The obtained data were subsequently processed in the sLORETA program and statistically evaluated at the significance level p ≤ 0.05. The analysis found statistically significant differences in the frequency bands alpha-2, beta-1, and beta-2 between the condition prior to stimulation and the actual stimulation in BAs 6, 7, 23, 24, and 31 and between the resting condition prior to stimulation, and the condition after the stimulation was terminated in the frequency bands alpha-1, alpha-2, beta-1, and beta-2 in BAs 3, 4, 6, and 24. The results showed that reflex locomotion stimulation according to Vojta’s therapy modulates electrical activity in the brain areas responsible for movement planning and regulating and performing the movement.
Highlights
Reflex locomotion according to Vojta’s therapy is a neurophysiological rehabilitation method that employs general, motor responses aroused with reflex locomotion stimulation applied to specific zones
We can expect that the CNS response will contain, in addition to the specific changes related to reflex locomotion stimulation, reactions to the tactile stimulus
The objective of the present study was to examine whether reflex locomotion stimulation results in changes of the source electrical activity in the cerebral cortex observable in sLORETA imaging
Summary
Reflex locomotion according to Vojta’s therapy is a neurophysiological rehabilitation method that employs general, motor (as well as non-motor) responses aroused with reflex locomotion stimulation applied to specific zones. Reflex locomotion employs specific reactions produced by the stimulation of certain body zones. We can expect that the CNS response will contain, in addition to the specific changes related to reflex locomotion stimulation, reactions to the tactile stimulus. Detailed descriptions of these reactions to the tactile stimulus have been provided in several studies. Though the above-stated studies described the inter-individual differences in the representation of individual body parts in the sensory cortex, all reactions to somatosensory stimulation were bound only to the primary sensory cortex (BAs 1, 2, and 3)
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