The effect of upper cervical or sacroiliac manipulation on hip flexion range of motion

Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of an upper cervical manipulation and a manipulation of the sacroiliac joint for increasing hip range of motion. Design: Clinical cohort study. Setting: Macquarie University Centre for Chiropractic Outpatient Clinic. Sample: Fifty-two randomly chosen university students aged 18 to 34 yr. Method: A reliable hand-held dynamometer was used to determine the end point of range of motion before and after the application of a treatment. Three groups of subjects were created: cervical manipulation, sacroiliac manipulation and sham/placebo. Range of motion of the hip in flexion (SLR) was used as the independent variable. Results: The two manipulative treatments resulted in increased flexion range of motion at the hip. Statistical analysis revealed that only the upper cervical manipulation procedure increased hip flexion range of motion significantly. Conclusion: The results suggest that manual therapy of the neck may affect hip range of motion in normal adults. Findings such as these may indicate the existence of a link between the cervical spine and the lower extremity.