Cardiovascular and respiratory changes produced by lateral glide mobilization of the cervical spine

Abstract

Elucidation of the effects of manual physiotherapy treatment techniques provides an insight into their mechanisms of action. Several treatment techniques for the cervical spine have been shown to consistently produce sympatho-excitation as indicated by changes in sudomotor and peripheral vasomotor function. In order to ascertain the extent and nature of this manipulation induced sympatho-excitatory effect, changes in cardiac and respiratory function were investigated. A within-subjects study design was used to examine the effects of a randomly applied, cervical spine lateral glide treatment technique, a placebo technique and a control technique. Blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate were used as indicators of cardiac and respiratory function. Twenty-four subjects who were asymptomatic and blind to the aim of the study participated in the study. The lateral glide treatment technique produced an increase in diastolic and systolic blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate that was significantly greater than that of the placebo and control conditions ( P < 0.05). This finding indicates that the sympatho-excitatory effect of the cervical lateral glide treatment technique extends beyond sudomotor and peripheral vasomotor systems to include cardiac and respiratory systems. These findings have implications for our understanding of the effects of manipulative physiotherapy treatment techniques.