The immediate effect of chiropractic cervical spinal manipulative therapy on joint position sense and balance in elderly participants in the eThekwini Municipality

Abstract

Background The elderly population is growing due to medical advancements. Falls risk is one of the leading causes of death and injury in individuals over the age of 60 years, given that aging causes a degeneration of vestibular, visual and proprioceptive systems, aiding in balance. Chiropractic management has been identified as a strategy which may aid in the improvement of balance. There is a paucity in the literature when it comes to chiropractic treatment and its effect on joint position sense and balance, as well as paucity regarding the elderly population. Aim The aim of this study was to determine the immediate effect of cervical spine chiropractic manipulative therapy on joint position sense and sway index, as a part of balance in elderly participants in the eThekwini Municipality, in South Africa. Method This was a pre-post study in which 30 healthy participants with a mean age of 71 years of age participated. The elbow joint position sense was measured using a goniometer, and static balance was tested using the Biodex Biosway® portable balance system. The participants reproduced a predetermined angle of flexion of the elbow (blindfolded) pre- and post- intervention. The participants were tested for sway index on the Biodex Biosway® portable balance system with eyes open, pre- and post-intervention. The intervention of this study was a single cervical spine manipulation of the most restricted facet using the diversified technique. The location of the manipulation was not specific to a particular area of the cervical spine but the most restricted segment was adjustment. The joint position sense and balance of the pre- and post-intervention data were compared using statistical software IBM SPSS version 27. Results There was a significant improvement of joint position sense (p=0.032) after chiropractic spinal manipulation of the cervical spine; this was shown by the increase in accuracy of joint position sense. There was no significant improvement in static balance (p=0.683) after chiropractic spinal manipulation of the cervical spine. In this study, 76.7% of the participants were female and 23.3% were male and the ethnic distribution was as follows 90% white, 6.7% black and 3.3% Indian. Conclusion This study suggests that cervical spinal manipulation may alter sensorimotor functions associated with aspects of balance, such as joint position sense in the elderly, and thus decrease falls. This is due to the improvement in joint position sense post-chiropractic spinal manipulation however, it is unknown if this effect translates to the lower limb. Further studies need to be done to determine the effect of chiropractic manipulation on balance in the elderly as chiropractic spinal manipulation influences aspects of balance in the elderly but it is unclear as to the lasting length of its effects. It is also unclear as to the effect of longterm chiropractic treatment in both balance and falls prevention.