Acute Responses of Postural Alignment, Kinematic Synergy, and Intermuscular Coherence to Postural Muscle Facilitation

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Electromyography; Kinematics; Posture; Musculoskeletal Equilibrium
• Interventions: Other: Exercise Then Stretch; Other: Stretch Then Exercise

• Registration Number: NCT05608850
• Lead Sponsor: Radford University

Brief Summary

Clinicians frequently assess and intervene on postural alignment. However, research demonstrating the effects of exercise interventions in moving postural alignment toward an evidence-based standard is lacking. Part of the difficulty in establishing such evidence has been a lack of theory-motivated conceptions of what "good" posture is. In other words, the prevailing understanding of postural alignment is based on the negation of what has been observed to associate with bad outcomes. This study will build upon preliminary findings from our laboratory that define good postural alignment on theoretical grounds. The investigators will measure motion capture and muscle activation patterns during simple postural alignment tasks before and after 1) a corrective exercise intervention, or 2) a control intervention based designed to inhibit superficial muscle tension. The corrective exercise intervention is designed to counteract the natural patterns in which the human skeleton tends to collapse from a standing position under the influence of gravity. The control intervention consists of passive, partner-assisted stretching. Regardless of initial assignment, all participants will crossover (i.e. switch interventions) and repeat the study procedures after a 1-week washout period. Behavioral indicators of movement and nervous system coordination will be used to quantify alignment before and after exercise, as well as the consistency of those alignment patterns with theoretically-defined standards. The knowledge gained from this study will contribute to evidence-based definitions of healthy postural alignment and help identify effective interventions by which clinicians can promote good posture.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2022-10-25
• Study First Submitted: 2022-10-28
• Status Verified: 2022-11
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-11-02
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-11-02
• Study First Posted: 2022-11-08
• Last Update Posted: 2022-11-08
• Primary Completion: 2023-05
• Study Completion: 2023-05

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 15

Inclusion Criteria

• Healthy adult
• 18 - 40 years of age

Exclusion Criteria

• Recent (< 6 months) history of lower extremity injury
• Recent (< 6 months) history of other musculoskeletal or neurological disorder affecting balance
• Contraindications to participation in physical activity

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: CROSSOVER

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Exercise Then Stretch	Stretch Then Exercise	Participants in AB will perform the experimental (exercise) intervention first and the control (stretch) intervention second
Stretch Then Exercise	Exercise Then Stretch	Participants in BA will perform the experimental (exercise) intervention second and the control (stretch) intervention first
Exercise Then Stretch	Exercise Then Stretch	Participants in AB will perform the experimental (exercise) intervention first and the control (stretch) intervention second
Stretch Then Exercise	Stretch Then Exercise	Participants in BA will perform the experimental (exercise) intervention second and the control (stretch) intervention first

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Pooled intermuscular coherence	Immediately after Intervention (Day 7)	Weighted average of frequency-domain correlations between muscle pairs belonging to anterior, posterior, and trunk muscle groups.
Euclidean distance from the vector describing subject-specific, simulated gravitational collapse	Immediately after Intervention (Day 7)	This outcome is a cumulative descriptor of segment angle distance from the pattern in which an individual's posture would collapse. The reference point for each individual is calculated using both pre and post-intervention data for a given day.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Top-down kinetic chain continuity	Immediately after Intervention (Day 7)	The purpose of this outcome is to quantify the communication of motion from the upper body to the lower body. In a test involving placing hands-on-head and pulling the elbows back as far as possible, the response in the lower body is quantified by posterior rotation of the tibial segment.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Radford University Carilion; 🇺🇸 Roanoke, Virginia, United States