The immediate effects of spinal thoracic manipulation on respiratory functions.
Doo Chul Shin, Yong Woo Lee
PMID 27799691WHAT IT FOUND
In healthy young adults, thoracic spinal manipulation immediately increased forced vital capacity by 0.2 liters and FEV1 by 0.1 liters; placebo showed no change.
The authors called the gains very small.
Key findings
01Thoracic spinal manipulation increased FVC and FEV1 significantly in the experimental group, while the placebo control showed no difference.
02The mean immediate FVC change in the experimental group was 0.2 liters and the mean FEV1 change was 0.1 liters.
03Between-group differences in pre- and post-intervention FVC and FEV1 were significant.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The participants were healthy young adults, so the results do not show what happens in older people or patients with respiratory dysfunction such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The authors described the changes in FVC and FEV1 as very small and suggested they may reflect the healthy young sample. Five volunteers were excluded because they refused spinal manipulation, and the final group sizes are not stated. The study measured only immediate effects, so it does not show whether any change lasts. Thoracic joint mobility was not measured, so the proposed mechanism of increased mobility was not tested.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that thoracic spinal manipulation improves breathing in patients. It was tested in healthy young adults, the changes were very small, and only immediate spirometry was measured.