OBJECTIVE: To investigate a proposed model in which manipulative therapy produces a treatment-specific initial hypoalgesic and sympathoexcitatory effect by activating a descending pain inhibitory system. The a priori hypothesis tested was that manipulative therapy produces mechanical hypoalgesia and sympathoexcitation beyond that produced by placebo or control. Furthermore, these effects would be correlated, thus supporting the proposed model.

DESIGN: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, repeated-measures study of the initial effect of treatment.

SETTING: Clinical neurophysiology laboratory.

SUBJECTS: Twenty-four subjects (13 women and 11 men; mean age, 49 yr) with chronic lateral epicondylalgia (average duration, 6.2 months).

INTERVENTION: Cervical spine lateral glide oscillatory manipulation, placebo and control.

OUTCOME MEASURES: Pressure pain threshold, thermal pain threshold, pain-free grip strength test, upper limb tension test 2b, skin conductance, pileous and glabrous skin temperature and blood flux.

RESULTS: Treatment produced hypoalgesic and sympathoexcitatory changes significantly greater than those of placebo and control (p < .03). Confirmatory factor-analysis modeling, which was performed on the pain-related measures and the indicators of sympathetic nervous system function, demonstrated a significant correlation (r = .82) between the latencies of manipulation-induced hypoalgesia and sympathoexcitation. The Lagrange Multiplier test and Wald test indicated that the two latent factors parsimoniously and appropriately represented their observed variables.

CONCLUSION: Manual therapy produces a treatment-specific initial hypoalgesic and sympathoexcitatory effect beyond that of placebo or control. The strong correlation between hypoalgesic and sympathoexcitatory effects suggests that a central control mechanism might be activated by manipulative therapy.

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