• Costa SMV
• Chibana YET
• Giavarotti L
• Compagnoni DS
• Shiono AH
• Satie J
• Bracher ES

• Golf
• Manipulation, Chiropractic
• Muscle Stretching Exercises
• Musculoskeletal Manipulations
• Sports Medicine

Methods: Golfers of 2 golf clubs in São Paulo, Brazil, participated in this study. They were randomized to 1 of 2 groups: Group I received a stretch program, and group II received a stretch program in addition to SMT. Participants in both groups performed the same standardized stretching program. Spinal manipulative therapy to dysfunctional spinal segments was performed on group II only. All golfers performed 3 full-swing maneuvers. Ball range was considered as the average distance for the 3 shots. Treatment was performed after the initial measurement, and the same maneuvers were performed afterward. Each participant repeated these procedures for a 4-week period. Student t test, Mann-Whitney nonparametric test, and 1-way analysis of variance for repeated measures with significance level of 5% were used to analyze the study.

Results: Forty-three golfers completed the protocol. Twenty participants were allocated to group I and 23 to group II. Average age, handicap, and initial swing were comparable. No improvement of full-swing performance was observed during the 4 sessions on group I (stretch only). An improvement was observed at the fourth session of group II (P = .005); when comparing the posttreatment, group II had statistical significance at all phases (P = .003).

Conclusions: Chiropractic SMT in association with muscle stretching may be associated with an improvement of full-swing performance when compared with muscle stretching alone.

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