Straub W F, Spino M P, Alattar M M, Pfleger B, Downes J W, Belizaire M A, Heinonen O J, Vasankari T
Life University, International Sports Training Institute, Marietta, GA 30050, USA.
J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2001 Mar-Apr;24(3):191-8.
To determine the effect of chiropractic care on jet lag in Finnish junior elite athletes.
Fifteen Finnish junior elite athletes.
Through use of a table of random numbers, each athlete was assigned by sex to one of 3 groups: chiropractic adjustment, sham adjustment, or control. As needed, the chiropractic adjustment group athletes (n = 5) were adjusted on a daily basis by licensed chiropractors using a toggle/recoil procedure. The sham adjustment group athletes (n = 5) received sham adjustments on a daily basis by licensed chiropractors. The control group athletes (n = 5) were not adjusted or sham-adjusted but participated in all test protocols. Sleep, jet lag, chiropractic, and mood data (the last acquired through use of the Profile of Mood States) were collected on a daily basis for 18 consecutive days.
Repeated-measures analyses of variance (3 x 2) of total mood disturbance scores and heart rate variables indicated that there were no significant (.05 level) between-group differences. Sleep data were analyzed through use of a 3 x 2, repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance. Pillai's trace indicated that there were no between-group differences. Self-assessment of jet lag by participants after traveling to Georgia and after returning to Finland showed no between-group differences.
It was concluded that chiropractic care did not reduce the effects of jet lag.
