The Effect of Combined Treatment of Chiropractic and Shoulder Flexibility Exercises on the Balance Ability of the Deformed Cervical Alignment Subjects

Abstract

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of changes in cervical alignment on balance ability, to correct cervical alignment, and to present effective interventional variables that can improve balance ability. METHODS Group 1 (Deformed cervical alignment group, n = 16) and Group 2 (Normal cervical alignment group, n = 16). The subjects measured their balance ability before and after treatment with chiropractic and shoulder flexibility exercises. Balance ability was measured by static balance and dynamic balance. For Group 1, chiropractic was treated once a week for 15 minutes, and shoulder flexibility exercise was treated three times a week for one hour. The pre- and post-measurement results of Group 1 were compared with Group 2, and differences among groups and groups were analyzed. The test method was tested with the Independent t-test and Paired t-test. RESULTS Group 1 showed a significant reduction (p<0.04) in the distance between the 7th cervical spine and gravity line, showing an improvement in cervical alignment. In the static equilibrium, the significant difference that was measured beforehand disappeared and the sum of deflection decreased. The dynamic balance did not disappear significantly but the balance ability improved as the sum of deflection decreased. CONCLUSIONS The cervical alignment deformation affects the balance ability. A combination of cervical alignment correction and exercise to increase the flexibility of the shoulder and neck muscles were performed. As a result, it was a factor in improving the static balance and dynamic balance ability of the left and right sides of the cervical spine.

Keywords

• cervical alignment
• chiropractic
• dynamic balance ability
• shoulder flexibility exercises
• static balance