P-5 The effect of harmonic therapy on acute peripheral blood circulation in young males

Abstract

Objectives Circulation has an essential role in tissue healing. The increased blood circulation facilitates the delivery of protein, nutrients, and oxygen, which in turn results in better tissue healing. Previous studies have compared the effects of different physiotherapy treatment methods including physical agents, massage and exercises on the peripheral circulation to determine their effectiveness. Harmonic technique is recent name given to a group of manual techniques involving gentle rocking of different body masses. The name ‘harmonic technique’ is derived from that of a physical phenomenon called harmonic motion. This describes the rhythmic and cyclical motion of an object motion between two spatial positions. The aims of the study were to investigate the effect of active assistive and passive harmonic therapy movements on acute peripheral blood circulation in young males and to compare with passive range of motion. Methods Eighteen young males with 22.17 ± 1.68 years average age (age range:20–25) participated in the study. 83.3% of males were right-handed. Active assistive harmonic therapy (AHT), passive harmonic therapy (PHT) and passive range of motion (PROM) were applied on shoulder joint of dominant upper extremity in three consecutive sessions one week apart. Duration of a session was 10 minutes. All interventions were applied in the sitting position. The same physiotherapist applied all interventions. Pre-and post-movement period, Doppler ultrasonography used for peripheral blood circulation measurement from radial artery in both dominant and non-dominant side and peripheral blood circulation was calculated by using an equation. Doppler ultrasonography measurements were performed by the same radiologist and radiologist was blind about intervention. Results After AHT and PHT applications, blood flow of radial artery increased (p 0.05). No statistically significant differences were found between blood flow of radial artery at pre- and post- intervention sessions for non-dominant sides in the all groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions Both active assistive and passive harmonic therapy increased peripheral blood flow in young males. Future studies are needed about effectiveness of harmonic therapy on peripheral blood flow in musculoskeletal problems. References Lederman E. Harmonic technique. Churchill Livingstone 2000. Lederman E. Fundamentals of manual therapy. Edinburgh. Churchill Livingstone. 1997. Frankel VH, Nordin M. Basic Biomechanics of the skeletal system. Philadelphia. Lea & Febiger.1980 Laughlin MH. Skeletal muscle blood flow capacity: role of muscle pump in exercise hypermia. Am J Physiol 1987 Nov:253(5 Pt 2):H993–1004.