Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the linear acceleration, time-to-peak acceleration, and effect of hand position comparing 2 clinicians completing a thoracic manipulation.
Methods: Thirteen volunteers received a right- and left-“handed” prone thoracic manipulation while accelerations were recorded by an inertial sensor. Peak thrust acceleration and time-to-peak thrust were measured.
Results: There were differences in thrust acceleration between right- and left-handed techniques for one therapist. The mean peak thrust acceleration was different between therapists, with the more practiced therapist demonstrating greater peak thrust accelerations. Time-to-peak acceleration also revealed between therapist differences, with the more practiced therapist demonstrating shorter time-to-peak acceleration. Cavitation data suggested that manipulations with greater accelerations were more likely to result in cavitation.
Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that with greater frequency of use, therapists are likely to achieve greater accelerations and shorter time-to-peak accelerations. Furthermore, this study showed that an inertial sensor can be used to quantify important variables during thoracic manipulation and are able to detect intertherapist differences in technique.
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