Comparative features of the immediate impact of manual therapy traction manipulations on the cardiorespiratory system of men and women

Purpose: the aim of this study was to determine the principal differences of changes in the cardiorespiratory system activity under the influence of traction manipulations in the thoracic spine of men and women.

Material & Methods: the 26 adults were involved in the study, including 18 women aged 39.6±12.1 years and 8 men aged 36.3±8.3 years. All patients were diagnosed with osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, which was confirmed by radiographic examination. The study of the cardiorespiratory system was conducted in the first procedure of SMT before and after the use of traction manipulations directly in the physician office. The integrated method of studying the cardiorespiratory system defined as spiroarteriocardiorhythmography (SACR) was used. It simultaneously records the heart rate, rhythms of systolic and diastolic pressure at each heartbeat and respiratory rhythms, which provides significant time savings to determine the functional state of the heart, vessels and respiration, as well as to identify the important parameters of their interaction.

Results: characterizing the changes in the cardiorespiratory system as a whole under the influence of traction manipulations on the thoracic spine, it should be noted that men and women had some significant unidirectional changes in HR (min–1), CO (dm3), CI (dm3/m2), IH (n. u.), which are determined primarily by the decrease in HR (min–1) under the influence of traction manipulations. As to the men, the significant effects were more related to the impact on the contractile function of the heart, which was confirmed by the improvement of the electrical systole of the ventricles (QTC, s), the increase in the activity of the effects of the parasympathetic branch of the ANS on the cardiac rhythm (HF, ms2) and a certain increase in the stroke index within the normative values (SI, cm3/m2), then to the women the significant effects were more related to the influence on the breathing pattern and vascular tone. Thus, characteristic and positive effects in women can be considered a decrease in the variability of diastolic blood pressure in the very-low-frequency range (VLFDBP, mmHg2), which is combined with a decrease in the total power of diastolic pressure variability (TPDBP, mmHg2) and an increase in the total peripheral vascular resistance (GPVR, dyn/s/cm−5).

Conclusions: summarizing the results of the impact of traction manipulations in the thoracic spine on the cardiorespiratory system of men and women, it can be stated that their effect is different and has features associated with the use of different mechanisms. For men, the predominant effect is on the heart contractile function, and for women it is on the respiratory system and autonomous regulation of vascular tone.