The effect of manipulation on range of movement at the ankle joint

Manipulation is commonly used by physiotherapists in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders; however, there have been few studies evaluating its use in peripheral joints. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of manipulation on dorsiflexion range of movement at the ankle joint. Twenty asymptomatic subjects participated, one ankle acting as the experimental ankle and receiving the manipulation intervention, while the other ankle acted as the control. The manipulation studied was a longitudinal talocrural manipulation. Dorsiflexion range of movement was measured at 5 consecutive torque levels pre and post manipulation intervention in the experimental ankle and pre and post no intervention in the control ankle. These values were compared using analysis of trend within an analysis of variance framework. There was no statistically significant change in dorsiflexion range of movement following manipulation. It was concluded that in the case of asymptomatic subjects these results did not provide support for the experimental hypothesis that a single talocrural manipulation alters dorsiflexion range of movement. It was suggested that future research investigate the effects of manipulation in a symptomatic population.