The effect of thoracic manipulation on blood pressure
Item
- Title
- The effect of thoracic manipulation on blood pressure
- Author(s)
- Photay Nina
- Abstract
- Many Osteopaths and physical therapists use manipulation to decrease pain and improve quality of range of movement. However, little is known about the exact mechanism and physiological effect manipulation has on the body. The aim of this study was to seethe effect a postero-anterior manipulation at T2-3 and T3-4 has on the systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Twenty asymptomatic female students from the British College of Naturopathy and Osteopathy, in the 2nd to 4th year were used. Method: The subjects were randomly selected to either act as the control group, in which a sham manipulation was performed, or the experimental group, in which the manipulations were carried out. All volunteers were previously assessed for suitability in this study. With the volunteers lying prone on the plinth, an automatic sphygmomanometer was attached to their right arm. The blood pressure was taken three times to establish an average resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Either the manipulations or shammanipulations were performed. The blood pressure was measured straight after the technique, then at 90 seconds and at 180 seconds. Result: A paired students t test was used to see the significance (p<0.05) of the results. There is a significant decrease, then increase in both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure following T2-3 and T3-4 manipulation. When sham manipulations were performed, there was no significant change (p>0.05) in blood pressure. Conclusion: The results show manipulations of the spine initially reduces blood pressure, with a slight increase at 90 and 180 seconds. This study shows manipulating the thoracic spine has an effect on the autonomic nervous system. With further research, full understand how this happens, how long the effects last and what other effects thoracic manipulation has will become apparent.
- presented at
- British College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Date Accepted
- 2002
- Date Submitted
- 1.11.2003 00:00:00
- Type
- undergraduate_project
- Language
- English
- Number of pages
- 37
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 13022
- Inst-Identifier
- 1076
- Keywords
- Blood Pressure,Osteopathy,Thoracic area,Manipulation
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Photay Nina, “The effect of thoracic manipulation on blood pressure”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 4, 2025, https://www.osteopathicresearch.org/s/orw/item/1316