Clinical trial NCT05608850: Acute Responses of Postural Alignment, Kinematic Synergy, and Intermuscular Coherence to Postural Muscle Facilitation
Official title: Acute Responses of Postural Alignment, Kinematic Synergy, and Intermuscular Coherence to Postural Muscle Facilitation
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Posture
Musculoskeletal Equilibrium
Electromyography
Kinematics
Keywords: Alignment
Posture
Motor control
Intervention
Lead sponsor: Radford University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2022-11-08
Enrollment: 15
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 40
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

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.


Eligibility criteria: 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

Primary outcomes:
measure: Euclidean distance from the vector describing subject-specific, simulated gravitational collapse
timeFrame: Immediately before Intervention (Day 1)
measure: Euclidean distance from the vector describing subject-specific, simulated gravitational collapse
timeFrame: Immediately after Intervention (Day 1)
measure: Euclidean distance from the vector describing subject-specific, simulated gravitational collapse
timeFrame: Immediately before Intervention (Day 7)
measure: Euclidean distance from the vector describing subject-specific, simulated gravitational collapse
timeFrame: Immediately after Intervention (Day 7)
measure: Pooled intermuscular coherence
timeFrame: Immediately before Intervention (Day 1)
measure: Pooled intermuscular coherence
timeFrame: Immediately after Intervention (Day 1)
measure: Pooled intermuscular coherence
timeFrame: Immediately before Intervention (Day 7)
measure: Pooled intermuscular coherence
timeFrame: Immediately after Intervention (Day 7)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Top-down kinetic chain continuity
timeFrame: Immediately before Intervention (Day 1)
measure: Top-down kinetic chain continuity
timeFrame: Immediately after Intervention (Day 1)
measure: Top-down kinetic chain continuity
timeFrame: Immediately before Intervention (Day 7)
measure: Top-down kinetic chain continuity
timeFrame: Immediately after Intervention (Day 7)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Roanoke
country: United States
facility: Radford University Carilion
state: Virginia
Study officials:
References: