The immediate effects of the suboccipital muscle inhibition technique on vagus nerve activity and the balance of the autonomic nervous system.
Item
- Title
- The immediate effects of the suboccipital muscle inhibition technique on vagus nerve activity and the balance of the autonomic nervous system.
- Author(s)
- Wenk, S
- Abstract
- Background: Since Dr. Still rested the base of his head on a sling, suboccipital inhibition (SOI) has been used by practitioners to generally relax patients. However, this has never been scientifically validated. Objective: Is it possible to establish a connection between SOI and the vagus nerve function or the balance of the autonomic nervous system? Design: sham-controlled, single-blinded, repeated measures and crossover pilot study. Methods: 33 participants (20 females) were recruited among the students of the European School of Osteopathy, Maidstone. Exclusion criteria were: on medication for blood pressure or heart rate; diagnosis of hypertension, cardiovascular disease or diabetes as well consumption of caffeine, alcohol or drugs and smoking The data was gathered using the Polar wrist watch models RS8OO and RS8IOi (5-minute recordings). The suboccipital inhibition protocol was executed with the participant in a supine position. The sham protocol differed by applying light touch above the nuchal line. For the analyses of the R-R beat interval reading, fast Fourier transformation (FFT) was chosen to analyze changes in the high frequency (HF) and low frequency (LF) band at four time points (pre-intervention, post-intervention, pre-sham & post-sham). Of special interest were any changes in the HF band. The Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon tests were used to analyze any significance between time points. Results: The participants were between 19 and 51 years of age with a mean age of 28 (t9) years. All null hypothesis could not be rejected with Hl: p=0.967, H2: p=0.261 and H3: p=0.278. Conclusion: The study found no statistically significant connection between the intervention and the investigated markers of the HRV. There is a tendency of low (<800 ms2) and high (>2000 ms2) absolute values towards intermediate values which can be interpreted as a balancing effect on the PSNS.
- presented at
- European School of Osteopathy
- Date Accepted
- 2016
- Date Submitted
- 2.12.2016 17:29:04
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 15971
- Inst-Identifier
- 1229
- Keywords
- Heart rate variability, Autonomics, Inhibition.
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Wenk, S, “The immediate effects of the suboccipital muscle inhibition technique on vagus nerve activity and the balance of the autonomic nervous system.”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 4, 2025, https://www.osteopathicresearch.org/s/orw/item/510