ArticleChiropractic & manual therapies2026
Thoracic spinal manipulation: exploring force-time profiles and force modulation strategies in French chiropractors.
Article in Chiropractic & manual therapies, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSpinal manipulation (SM) involves the application of controlled, high-velocity low-amplitude (HVLA) forces with specific biomechanical properties. While prior research has outlined how these force-time characteristics evolve with practitioner expertise, the strategies used to intentionally adjust such parameters remain insufficiently explored. This study sought to assess the thoracic SM profiles of French chiropractors and to explore how instructions related to a clinical scenario, age, gender and years of practice are associated with SM force-time profiles.
methodsForty-six licensed chiropractors participated during a national professional gathering on the 15th and 16th March, 2024. Each performed thoracic HVLA manipulations on a manikin under three sequential conditions: initial familiarization, a simulated clinical case involving a patient with thoracic pain, and a constrained task requiring a 50% reduction in peak force. A force-sensing table captured detailed force-time data, including preload, peak force, peak thrust duration, and rate of force application. Linear mixed models were performed to examine the effects of trial number and experimental condition on each force-time parameter, with subjects included as random effects to account for repeated measures.
resultsIn the clinical simulation, the average peak force reached 569.1 N, with an average rate of force application of 3093.8 N/s. During the modulation task, chiropractors applied significantly lower forces (mean peak: 379.0 N) and a reduced rate of force application (mean: 2072.8 N/s). Clinical scenarios and gender significantly impacted SM biomechanical parameters (p < 0.05). No effect was observed for age, year of practice, or types of therapy techniques.
conclusionChiropractors adapted their force during the 50% modulation task by substantially reducing peak force and rate of force application, while minimally decreasing peak thrust duration This pattern could reflect a pulse-height control strategy, where force amplitude is scaled while temporal structure is preserved, suggesting that training consistent timing may enhance precision and adaptability in manual therapy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.