Abstract
M. Tech.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Chiropractic Spinal
Manipulative Therapy (CSMT) of the cervical spine on the key-strike accuracy of
adults typing on a standard keyboard. By reducing the negative neural and other
effects caused by aberrant movement between vertebrae, CSMT could allow optimal
propagation and processing of upper limb proprioceptive information and improve
cognitive processing needed for accurate typing.
DESIGN: Forty subjects presenting to the University of Johannesburg Chiropractic
Clinic participated in the study. The participants were allocated to one of two groups.
Participants in the Experimental Group received spinal manipulative therapy to
restricted segments in the cervical spine, as was determined by motion palpation of
the cervical spine. Participants in the Control Group received detuned ultrasound
therapy as a placebo. Patients were seen a total of six times over a period of three
weeks.
MEASUREMENTS: Participants were asked to copy a document on a standard
computer keyboard, once before the treatment trial, and once following the treatment
trial. The number of errors made pre-treatment was calculated and compared to the
number of errors made post-treatment.
CONCLUSION: Patients in the experimental group made significantly less typing
errors following the treatment trial, while there was no difference in the number of
typing errors made by patients in the control group. The results of this study increase
potential for the chiropractic profession to contribute to the efficiency of the
increasing number of people in the population that perform work on computers.