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

NCT05912751 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2021-288-RUC (Retrospective)
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 10
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

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.

Conditions

Posture; Musculoskeletal Equilibrium

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (8)

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

  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.

  Immediately before Intervention (Day 1)

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

  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.

  Immediately after Intervention (Day 1)

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

  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.

  Immediately before Intervention (Day 7)

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

  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.

  Immediately after Intervention (Day 7)

• Pooled intermuscular coherence

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

  Immediately before Intervention (Day 1)

• Pooled intermuscular coherence

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

  Immediately after Intervention (Day 1)

• Pooled intermuscular coherence

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

  Immediately before Intervention (Day 7)

• Pooled intermuscular coherence

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

  Immediately after Intervention (Day 7)

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Top-down kinetic chain continuity

  Immediately before Intervention (Day 1)

• Top-down kinetic chain continuity

  Immediately after Intervention (Day 1)

• Top-down kinetic chain continuity

  Immediately before Intervention (Day 7)

• Top-down kinetic chain continuity

  Immediately after Intervention (Day 7)

Study Arms (2)

Exercise Then Foam Roll

OTHER

This arm (sequence) will first complete the exercise intervention promoting muscular engagement resisting gravitational collapsing tendencies, then the control intervention involving self-myofascial release of muscle groups not thought to resist gravitational collapse.

Other: Exercise Then Foam Roll

Foam Roll Then Exercise

OTHER

This arm (sequence) will first complete the control intervention involving self-myofascial release of muscle groups not thought to resist gravitational collapse, then the exercise intervention promoting muscular engagement resisting gravitational collapsing tendencies.

Other: Foam Roll Then Exercise

Interventions

Exercise Then Foam Roll OTHER

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

Also known as: AB

Exercise Then Foam Roll

Foam Roll Then Exercise OTHER

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

Also known as: BA

Foam Roll Then Exercise

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 40 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Healthy adult
• years of age

You may not qualify if:

• 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

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Radford University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Radford University Carilion

Roanoke, Virginia, 24013, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Stephen Glass, PhD

  Radford University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 12, 2023
• First Posted: June 22, 2023
• Study Start: August 10, 2021
• Primary Completion: April 14, 2022
• Study Completion: April 14, 2022
• Last Updated: June 22, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: On request and indefinitely.

Locations

US (1)