Chiropractic Adjustments Improve Movement Time

A study published in the May 2006 issue of the scientific periodical, The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, looked at how chiropractic adjustments would affect relative times to perform movements in a controlled test. 

Ten patients from a private chiropractic practice participated in this prospective, randomized, and controlled trial. These ten patients received chiropractic adjustments to areas determined to have vertebral subluxations. A separate group of individuals who did not receive chiropractic care were also tested to have a baseline for comparison with those receiving the chiropractic adjustments.

Movement time was measured on a computer screen where subjects were asked to move a cursor onto a target.

The results showed that all those in the study who received chiropractic adjustments for subluxation correction had significantly improved movement times.  This was in stark contrast to the control group that did not receive chiropractic care where only one participant showed improvement in their movement times.

The average improvement in movement time for the group that received chiropractic care was 183 ms (mille-seconds), which represents a 9.2% improvement.  This can be compared to the control group that showed only a 29 ms, or 1.7% improvement.  The study researchers reported, "The difference (improvement) scores after the intervention were significantly greater for the chiropractic group compared with the control group."

The authors showed the importance of the results of this study in their conclusion, "The results of this study demonstrated a significant improvement in movement time with chiropractic care. These results suggest that spinal adjustments may influence motor behavior."  The ramifications are large for those involved in sports, as these results suggest improved performance is possible with chiropractic care.