Effects of thoracic spinal manipulation in long COVID patients: A randomised controlled trial

Long COVID patients manifest dyspnoea, chest heaviness, and symptoms, ascertaining deteriorated lung function. As thoracic spinal manipulation in such patients may lead to spinal misalignment, the chest wall compliance may also get affected. This study aimed to determine the role of thoracic spinal manipulation on pulmonary function, thoracic spine mobility, and chest expansion in patients with Long COVID.

A Randomised Controlled trial was done in Dr. D.Y. Patil College of Physiotherapy, Pune, Maharashtra on 42 individuals who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. They were randomly assigned to two groups using the chit method. The experimental group (Group A), with a mean age of 23.85 ± 3.55 years (11 males, 10 females), underwent thoracic spinal manipulation in conjunction with pulmonary rehabilitation five times a week for two weeks. The control group (Group B) with a mean age of 24.9 (±5.26) years (9 males, 12 females) underwent pulmonary rehabilitation only. After two weeks, primary outcome measures, including pulmonary function, thoracic spine mobility, and chest expansion, were evaluated. The data were analysed with SPSS version 21 software using the Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann-Whitney tests for within- and between-groups comparisons.

The experimental group showed a significant improvement (p < 0.05) in pulmonary function and thoracic spine mobility, except for thoracolumbar extension and chest expansion parameters versus control group. Within-group analysis of both groups, yielded significant results for all dependent outcome variables. (p < 0.05).

The study supports the role of thoracic spinal manipulation in improving pulmonary function and thoracic spine mobility in patients with Long COVID.