The Effect of Combining Manual Therapy with Exercise on the Respiratory Function of Normal Individuals: A Randomized Control Trial

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the effect of combining manual therapy with exercise on respiratory function in normal individuals. Methods: The study design was a randomized control trial. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV₁) were measured in 20 healthy, nonsmoking individuals before and after 3 interventions: exercise only, chiropractic manual therapy only, and manual therapy followed by exercise. The participants, 18 to 28 years of age, were randomly allocated to a control and 3 intervention groups. Each participant underwent 6 sessions of interventions over a 4-week period. Results: The exercise only group showed a significant decrease in FVC (P = .002, generalized linear model [GLM]) and FEV₁ readings (P = .0002, GLM). The manual therapy only group showed a significant increase in FVC (P = .000, GLM) and FEV₁ (P = .001, GLM). The group that received both manual therapy and exercise showed increases in FVC and FEV₁ immediately after manual therapy followed by an additional increase after exercise. The overall increase in this group was not statistically significant. Participants in the control group showed no change in FVC or FEV₁. Conclusions: Manual therapy appears to increase the respiratory function of normal individuals. The potential for this intervention administered before exercise to permit additional tolerance within the respiratory system that could allow an extended exercise program than was previously possible is discussed.