The effects of a single session of spinal manipulation on strength and cortical drive in athletes

Purpose The primary purpose of this study was to investigate whether a single session of spinal manipulation (SM) increases strength and cortical drive in the lower limb (soleus muscle) of elite Taekwondo athletes. Methods Soleus-evoked V-waves, H-reflex and maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) of the plantar flexors were recorded from 11 elite Taekwondo athletes using a randomized controlled crossover design. Interventions were either SM or passive movement control. Outcomes were assessed at pre-intervention and at three post-intervention time periods (immediate post, post 30 min and post 60 min). A multifactorial repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to assess within and between group differences. Time and session were used as factors. A post hoc analysis was carried out, when an interactive effect was present. Significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Results SM increased MVC force [ F (3,30) = 5.95, p