Influence of osteopathic cervical manipulation on blood flow velocity of the cerebral circulation in chronic neck pain: analysis of three groups

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Spinal manipulation (SM) can reduce or improve the pain and dizziness originated in the neck. However, there is some criticism against SM. The objective of this study was to check if the osteopathic manipulation (OM) with a cervical rhythmic articulatory technique (CRAT) provides oscillations of the blood flow velocity (BFV) in the internal carotid arteries (ICA), vertebral arteries (VA) and basilar artery (BA), and if this technique is a risk factor for this circulatory system. METHODS: The study was conducted with 73 individuals (men and women) with mechanical cervicalgia, with an average age of 37.7±6.4 years. Fifty-eight had mild to moderate pain, randomly divided into control group (CG) and experimental-1 (EG-1), and 15 with severe pain in the experimental-2 group (EG-2). All subjects were submitted to the artery ultrasound (ICA, VA, and BA) in a blind methodology for the tests 1 (E1) and 2 (E2). Between E1 and E2, one single OM-CRAT was performed in the EGs 1 and 2 and resting for the CG. RESULTS: In the EG-1 there was a slight reduction of the BFV in the right ICA. In the EG-2 there was a significant increase of the BFV in the right VA. All samples presented normality. In the CG there was a reduction of the BFV in the left VA. When comparing the three groups, there was significance for the CG as EG-2 of the BFV in the right ICA (in E1) and of the BFV in the left ICA (in E2). Influence of osteopathic cervical manipulation on blood flow velocity of the cerebral circulation in chronic neck pain: analysis of three groups Influência da manipulação osteopática cervical na velocidade de fluxo sanguíneo da circulação cerebral em indivíduos com cervicalgia crônica: análise de três grupos