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

Radford University

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Kinematics; Posture; Electromyography; Musculoskeletal Equilibrium

Treatments: Other: Stretch Then Exercise; Other: Exercise Then Stretch

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05608850

2021-288-RUC

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Enrollment: 15 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 40 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

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

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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15 participants in 2 patient groups

Exercise Then Stretch

Other group

Description:

Participants in AB will perform the experimental (exercise) intervention first and the control (stretch) intervention second

Treatment:

Other: Stretch Then Exercise

Other: Exercise Then Stretch

Stretch Then Exercise

Other group

Description:

Participants in BA will perform the experimental (exercise) intervention second and the control (stretch) intervention first

Treatment:

Other: Stretch Then Exercise

Other: Exercise Then Stretch