The Immediate Effect of Orthopaedic Manual Therapy on Cervical Paravertebral Soft Tissue: A Study Using Soft Tissue Tension Cloud Chart Technology

Background: To evaluate the reliability the Soft Tissue Tension Cloud Chart(STTCC) technology, an original method combining multi-point Cervical Paravertebral Soft Tissue Test(CPSTT) with MATLAB software, and preliminary analyze immediate effect of Orthopaedic Manual Therapy(OMT) on Cervical Paravertebral Soft Tissue. Methods: : 30 patients with Cervical Spondylotic Radiculopathy(CSR) are included in this study to analyze the difference between before and after the treatment of Cervical Rotation-Traction Manipulation(CRTM), the representative of OMT in Traditional Chinese Medicine by STTCC technology. Results: The STTCC results show that the CPSTT after CRTM in CSR patients is significantly lower than before CRTM, with a statistically significant difference( P <0.001). Meanwhile, the CPSTT of the ill side(with radicular pain or numbness) is higher than that of the healthy side(without symptoms) from the fifth to seventh cervical segment before CRTM( P <0.001), while this difference disappears after CRTM( P =0.231). Conclusions: : STTCC technology is a reliable method to analyze the immediate effect of OMT. CSR patients have the characteristics of an uneven distribution of CPSTT; CRTM not only has the effect of reducing the cervical soft tissue tension of CSR patients but also can balance their uneven distribution between the ill side and the healthy side. Trial registration: This study was approved by the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry(Website: .https://www.chictr.org.cn.)on 20/04/2021 and the Registration Number is ChiCTR2100045648.