Squat Jump Performance and Chiropractic Ankle Manipulation

The Effects of Chiropractic Ankle Manipulation on Athletic Performance of College-Aged Recreational Athletes: Randomized Controlled Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if chiropractic ankle manipulation can improve squat jump performance. It will also learn about the relationship among chiropractic ankle manipulation, ankle range of motion, and squat jump performance. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does chiropractic ankle manipulation increase squat jump height?
• Is there a relationship among chiropractic ankle manipulation, ankle range of motion, and squat jump performance?

Researchers will compare squat jump performance between subjects who receive chiropractic ankle manipulations with control subjects to see if ankle chiropractic manipulation works to improve squat jump performance.

Participants will:

• Visit the research laboratory for one testing session to measure ankle range of motion and squat jump performance, before and after their randomly assigned intervention arm
• Receive either a chiropractic ankle manipulations or rest quietly as the control condition during the testing session.

Inclusion Criteria

• age range from 18 to 35 years old; and
• participating in recreational exercise, three times a week for at least 30 minutes. Recreational exercise includes ball sports (e.g. soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc.), racket sports (e.g. tennis, pickle ball, racket ball, etc.), strength/combat sports (e.g. weight lifting, boxing, martial arts, kickboxing, etc.), endurance sports (running, cycling, rock climbing, etc.), snow/ice sports (downhill or cross-county skiing, snow shoeing, hockey, etc.), interval training (e.g., high-intensity interval training), sprint interval training, repeated sprint training etc.) or moderate-intensity aerobic activities (step classes, dance classes, hiking, etc.)

Exclusion Criteria

• professional or amateur ranked athlete;
• participation in water sports (swimming, water aerobics, kayaking, water skiing, etc.) to meet the recreational exercise inclusion criteria
• acute or chronic musculoskeletal injury / condition of the feet, ankles, knees, and/or hips;
• acute or chronic musculoskeletal injury / condition of the spine;
• pregnancy or there is a possibility of pregnancy.
• any diagnosed medical condition; and
• any prescribed medications with the exceptions of birth control, anxiety, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications.