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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05912751

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

Postural alignment is often intervened upon in health, fitness, and physical medicine settings. Despite a long tradition in this area, current notions of optimal or normal posture are superficial and often logically inconsistent. A recent attempt to reconcile diverging opinions about good posture proposes that alignment be considered in relation to individual joints' natural tendencies to collapse under gravity. This theory allows different maladaptive postures to be described in terms of functional deficits and compensatory adaptations at the muscular level. Working within this type of theory, postural interventions may be able to account for comparative advantages in maintaining alignment between different muscle systems. This would represent a step forward from current practices, which usually attempt to force arbitrary alignment patterns indiscriminately.

The current study presents motion capture and electromyography (EMG) data evaluating the effects of two interventions on individual participants' bipedal standing alignment patterns with respect to the gravitational collapsing tendencies referenced above. Additional outcomes included functional grouping of muscle activation signals (via intermuscular coherence) and kinetic chain continuity. The interventions include 1) an experimental intervention purported to engage muscles that naturally resist the collapsing effects of gravity, and 2) a control intervention designed to inhibit other muscle groups that are sometimes involved in maintaining bipedal alignment in a compensatory role. Study outcomes are measured before and after both interventions to quantify the acute effects of each. All participants complete both interventions in random order, crossing over after a one-week washout period. This research will provide insight into the acute effects of studied interventions, specifically those relating to maintenance of bipedal alignment with respect to gravitational collapsing tendencies.

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Key information

Conditions

Posture Musculoskeletal Equilibrium

Age range

18 year–40 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Radford University Carilion

Roanoke, Virginia, 24013, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

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

Treatment and study plan

Exercise Then Foam Roll

Other

Participants in AB will perform the experimental (exercise) intervention first and the control (foam rolling) intervention second.

Other names: AB

Foam Roll Then Exercise

Other

Participants in BA will perform the control (foam rolling) intervention first and the experimental (exercise) intervention second.

Other names: BA

Primary outcomes

  1. Euclidean distance from the vector describing subject-specific, simulated gravitational collapse

    Time frame: Immediately before Intervention (Day 1)

    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.

  2. Euclidean distance from the vector describing subject-specific, simulated gravitational collapse

    Time frame: Immediately after Intervention (Day 1)

    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.

  3. Euclidean distance from the vector describing subject-specific, simulated gravitational collapse

    Time frame: Immediately before 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.

  4. Euclidean distance from the vector describing subject-specific, simulated gravitational collapse

    Time frame: 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.

  5. Pooled intermuscular coherence

    Time frame: Immediately before Intervention (Day 1)

    Weighted average of frequency-domain correlations between muscle pairs belonging to anterior, posterior, and trunk muscle groups.

  6. Pooled intermuscular coherence

    Time frame: Immediately after Intervention (Day 1)

    Weighted average of frequency-domain correlations between muscle pairs belonging to anterior, posterior, and trunk muscle groups.

  7. Pooled intermuscular coherence

    Time frame: Immediately before Intervention (Day 7)

    Weighted average of frequency-domain correlations between muscle pairs belonging to anterior, posterior, and trunk muscle groups.

  8. Pooled intermuscular coherence

    Time frame: Immediately after Intervention (Day 7)

    Weighted average of frequency-domain correlations between muscle pairs belonging to anterior, posterior, and trunk muscle groups.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Top-down kinetic chain continuity

    Time frame: Immediately before Intervention (Day 1)

    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.

  2. Top-down kinetic chain continuity

    Time frame: Immediately after Intervention (Day 1)

    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.

  3. Top-down kinetic chain continuity

    Time frame: Immediately before 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.

  4. Top-down kinetic chain continuity

    Time frame: 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.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Radford University

Other

Registry information

Acronym: PPMvsRCM

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Jun 22, 2023
Registry last updated
Jun 22, 2023

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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