The immediate effect of cranial osteopathy on the hamstring muscles flexibility- an in vivo pilot study.

Item

Title
The immediate effect of cranial osteopathy on the hamstring muscles flexibility- an in vivo pilot study.
Author(s)
Afifi, K
Abstract
Background: Hamstring muscle (HM) shortening is a common problem in manual therapy practice. The Primary Respiratory Mechanism (PRM) is the harmonic, rhythmic, autonomous motion inherent to the whole body, independent of thoracic respiration and heart beats. The cranial bowl (cranium) and the pelvic bowl (sacrum, coccyx, ilium and spine) are thought to be the basic units for PRM. Due to the anatomical, biomechanical and functional links between the HM, sacrum and consequently, the PRM, this experiment investigated the effect of cranial osteopathy on HM tightness. Objectives: to explore the effect of Cranial Osteopathy on HM flexibility. Design: Experimental study randomized pre...test/post...test control group design). Methods: ESO students between 16 and 40 years old with short hamstrings (passive straight leg raising below 60' (PSLR)) were included in this study. The exclusion criteria were a history of back pain for more than 6 weeks over the last year, a history of back, pelvis or lower limb surgery and neuromuscular disease. Subjects were randomly assigned by gender into the experimental group (EG) (receiving cranial treatment) or control group (CG) (lying flat on the couch for 5 minutes). Mobility of the sacrum and PSLR were measured The in vivo HM flexibility was examined by measuring changes in the geometry of the semitendinosus (ST) muscle (muscle thickness) and changes in the apex angle of the ST tendinous insertion (Tl). Primary outcome measures were indirect flexibility measurement by measuring in vivo ST muscle thickness and Tl apex angle. The secondary outcome measure was measurement of HM flexibility by PSLR. Groups' similarity was tested by the Shapiro-Wilks test and Levene's test. The Student t test (parametric data) and The Wilcoxon Mann Whitney U test {non-parametric data) were used for within-group comparison. ANOVA (parametric) and Kruskal-Wallis tests {non-parametric data) were used for between-group comparisons. Post-hoc and power analysis were also conducted. Results: Twelve subjects completed the study; Including six in the EG (five males and one female) and The mean age 27.2 (±7.4) median 24, height 1.80 (±0.09) weight 71.8 (± 8.2). six in the control group (four males and two females) The mean age 26.2 (±8.3) median 21.5, height 1.73 (±.012) weight 69.8 (±10.3). The ANOVA test showed a significant difference between groups in the post intervention left leg muscle thickness (P-value 0.03). Post hoc analysis (Tukey-Kramer test) showed a significant change in post intervention group (P.-value 0.04). The null hypothesises were not rejected for the rest of outcomes. Discussion: Flexibility gain after cranial treatment may occur due to influence from the cranial and/or pelvic bowl. Potential effects from the cranial bowl include relaxation of the suboccipital muscles, especially the rectus capitis posterior, which is directly attached to the dura and a myofascial chain connecting the pelvis and cranium. Influence from the pelvic bowl can include the effect of restoring normal anatomy of the sacroiliac joint (SIJ), which may restore normal motor control of muscles responsible for force closure of the SIJ or the origin of the HM itself, particularly the long head of BF (biceps femoris). Conclusion: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cranial osteopathy on HM flexibility. Significant post intervention improvement in the in vivo non dominant side muscle thickness was reported. All other outcome measures were not significant; therefore the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. As this is the first study of its kind, reliability and validity has not been investigated for the in vivo measures utilized. Due to the un-established reliability and validity of the primary outcome measures, as well as the small number of participants and low power of the study, a clear conclusion regarding the effect of cranial osteopathy on HM flexibility cannot be made.
presented at
European School of Osteopathy
Date Accepted
2016
Date Submitted
2.12.2016 17:29:03
Type
osteo_thesis
Language
English
Submitted by:
62
Pub-Identifier
15930
Inst-Identifier
1229
Keywords
Cranial osteopathy, Hamstring flexibility, Straight leg raising, Ultrasound.
Recommended
0
Item sets
Thesis

Afifi, K, “The immediate effect of cranial osteopathy on the hamstring muscles flexibility- an in vivo pilot study.”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 4, 2025, https://www.osteopathicresearch.org/s/orw/item/551