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The Effect of Spinal Position on Sciatic Nerve Excursion During Seated Neural Mobilisation Exercises: An in Vivo Study Using Ultrasound Imaging

Ellis, R; Osborne, S; Whitefield, J; Parmar, P; Hing, W
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http://hdl.handle.net/10292/10067
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Abstract
Objectives: Research has established that the amount of inherent tension a peripheral nerve tract is

exposed to influences nerve excursion and joint range of movement (ROM). The effect that spinal posture

has on sciatic nerve excursion during neural mobilisation exercises has yet to be determined. The purpose

of this research was to examine the influence of different sitting positions (slump-sitting versus upright-sitting)

on the amount of longitudinal sciatic nerve movement during different neural mobilisation exercises

commonly used in clinical practice.

Methods:High-resolution ultrasound imaging followed by frame-by-frame cross-correlation analysis was

used to assess sciatic nerve excursion. Thirty-four healthy participants each performed three different

neural mobilisation exercises in slump-sitting and upright-sitting. Means comparisons were used to

examine the influence of sitting position on sciatic nerve excursion for the three mobilisation exercises.

Linear regression analysis was used to determine whether any of the demographic data represented

predictive variables for longitudinal sciatic nerve excursion.

Results: There was no significant difference in sciatic nerve excursion (across all neural mobilisation

exercises) observed between upright-sitting and slump-sitting positions (P50.26). Although greater

body mass index, greater knee ROM and younger age were associated with higher levels of sciatic

nerve excursion, this model of variables offered weak predictability (R 2

50.22).

Discussion: Following this study, there is no evidence that, in healthy people, longitudinal sciatic nerve

excursion differs significantly with regards to the spinal posture (slump-sitting and upright-sitting). Furthermore,

although some demographic variables are weak predictors, the high variance suggests that there

are other unknown variables that may predict sciatic nerve excursion. It can be inferred from this research

that clinicians can individualise the design of seated neural mobilisation exercises, using different seated

positions, based upon patient comfort and minimisation of neural mechanosensitivity with the knowledge

that sciatic nerve excursion will not be significantly influenced.
Keywords
Neural mobilisation; Neurodynamics; Sciatic nerve; Ultrasound imaging; Ultrasonography; Peripheral nervous system; Physiotherapy; Physical therapy
Date
2016
Source
Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy, DOI: 10.1179/2042618615Y.0000000020
Item Type
Journal Article
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
DOI
10.1179/2042618615Y.0000000020
Publisher's Version
http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/2042618615Y.0000000020
Rights Statement
© 2016 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncnd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.

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