Clinical trial NCT01066325: Improving Flexibility With a Mindbody Approach
Official title: Improving Flexibility With a Mindbody Approach
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: EARLY_PHASE1
Conditions: General Low Back Hip and Hamstring Flexibility
Keywords: Sit-n-Reach Test
Flexibility
Hamstring
Mindbody
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Neuro Emotional Technique (NET)
Lead sponsor: Parker Research Institute
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2010-02-10
Enrollment: 45
Sex: FEMALE
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 45
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The objectives of this study are to investigate if Neuro Emotional Technique (NET) will impact back and leg flexibility over both the short-term and the long-term.

It is hypothesized that NET will improve flexibility and that these changes are durable.

Detailed description: General flexibility is a key component of health, wellbeing and general physical conditioning. In fact, lack of flexibility has been associated with an increased risk of developing musculoskeletal injuries and underperformance.

It has been previously shown that a regular stretching routine will improve flexibility relatively quickly. However, when the routine is discontinued or when stretching is not performed regularly, flexibility is also quickly lost. Therefore, an alternative intervention with longer retention would be desirable.

The reason for reduced flexibility, or a shortened muscle length, can be multifactorial. Reduced flexibility can be due to physical causes, such as an acute injury or strength training. Likewise, mental factors, such as anxiety and stress, can also significantly contribute to muscle tension, thereby reducing flexibility. It has been previously shown that somatic symptoms of anxiety can be lessened by treating the psychological symptoms of anxiety. It has also been previously shown that Neuro Emotional Technique® (NET), a chiropractic stress-reduction technique, is effective at reducing stress. Therefore, I hypothesize that NET may be effective at improving general flexibility. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate if NET can improve flexibility in the short-term, and if so, if these changes are durable in the long term.

Participants of this study will be randomly divided into three arms: (1) Experimental Arm - which will receive two 20-minute sessions of NET, (2) Active Controls - which will receive two 20-minute sessions of stretching instructions, and (3) Inactive Control - which will receive no intervention or instruction, but simply be assessed.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Healthy adults aged 18 to 45 years.

Exclusion Criteria:

* A currently diagnosed physical or mental health problem
* Pain on forward bending
* Pregnancy

NOTE: For this study, no compensation is possible.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in Sit-n-Reach Test Scores (cm)
timeFrame: weeks 0, 3
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS) score - change
timeFrame: weeks 0, 3
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Dallas
country: United States
facility: Parker Research Institute
state: Texas
Study officials:
affiliation: Parker Research Institute
name: Anne M Jensen, DC, MS, MSc
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Witvrouw E, Danneels L, Asselman P, D'Have T, Cambier D. Muscle flexibility as a risk factor for developing muscle injuries in male professional soccer players. A prospective study. Am J Sports Med. 2003 Jan-Feb;31(1):41-6. doi: 10.1177/03635465030310011801.
citation: Wells GD, Elmi M, Thomas S. Physiological correlates of golf performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2009 May;23(3):741-50. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181a07970.
citation: Jensen AM, Ramasamy A. Treating spider phobia using Neuro Emotional Technique: findings from a pilot study. J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Dec;15(12):1363-74. doi: 10.1089/acm.2008.0595.
citation: Baltaci G, Un N, Tunay V, Besler A, Gerceker S. Comparison of three different sit and reach tests for measurement of hamstring flexibility in female university students. Br J Sports Med. 2003 Feb;37(1):59-61. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.37.1.59.
citation: Castro-Pinero J, Chillon P, Ortega FB, Montesinos JL, Sjostrom M, Ruiz JR. Criterion-related validity of sit-and-reach and modified sit-and-reach test for estimating hamstring flexibility in children and adolescents aged 6-17 years. Int J Sports Med. 2009 Sep;30(9):658-62. doi: 10.1055/s-0029-1224175. Epub 2009 Jul 7.
citation: Chung PK, Yuen CK. Criterion-related validity of sit-and-reach tests in university men in Hong Kong. Percept Mot Skills. 1999 Feb;88(1):304-16. doi: 10.2466/pms.1999.88.1.304.
citation: Ortega FB, Artero EG, Ruiz JR, Vicente-Rodriguez G, Bergman P, Hagstromer M, Ottevaere C, Nagy E, Konsta O, Rey-Lopez JP, Polito A, Dietrich S, Plada M, Beghin L, Manios Y, Sjostrom M, Castillo MJ; HELENA Study Group. Reliability of health-related physical fitness tests in European adolescents. The HELENA Study. Int J Obes (Lond). 2008 Nov;32 Suppl 5:S49-57. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2008.183.
citation: Youdas JW, Krause DA, Hollman JH. Validity of hamstring muscle length assessment during the sit-and-reach test using an inclinometer to measure hip joint angle. J Strength Cond Res. 2008 Jan;22(1):303-9. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31815f5b7d.
citation: Crawford JR, Henry JD. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS): normative data and latent structure in a large non-clinical sample. Br J Clin Psychol. 2003 Jun;42(Pt 2):111-31. doi: 10.1348/014466503321903544.
citation: Khan RS, Marlow C, Head A. Physiological and psychological responses to a 12-week BodyBalance training programme. J Sci Med Sport. 2008 Jun;11(3):299-307. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2007.04.005. Epub 2007 Aug 14.
citation: Monti DA, Stoner ME, Zivin G, Schlesinger M. Short term correlates of the Neuro Emotional Technique for cancer-related traumatic stress symptoms: a pilot case series. J Cancer Surviv. 2007 Jun;1(2):161-6. doi: 10.1007/s11764-007-0018-x.
citation: Monti DA, Sinnott J, Marchese M, Kunkel EJ, Greeson JM. Muscle test comparisons of congruent and incongruent self-referential statements. Percept Mot Skills. 1999 Jun;88(3 Pt 1):1019-28. doi: 10.2466/pms.1999.88.3.1019.
citation: Peterson KB. A preliminary inquiry into manual muscle testing response in phobic and control subjects exposed to threatening stimuli. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1996 Jun;19(5):310-6.