High velocity low amplitude thrust
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High velocity low amplitude thrust (HVLA) is a manipulative therapy technique used by practitioners in several professions, among them chiropractors, physical therapists, and physicians (both osteopathic physicians and medical doctors), to treat somatic dysfunction and joint-related problems.
[edit] Technique
The physician begins by making a three-plane diagnosis of somatic dysfunction. The physician positions the patient at the "feather edge" of the restrictive barrier--the pathologic end of range of passive motion which is encountered before the anatomical end of range of motion. The physician then vectors a rapid, low-amplitude impulse into the barrier. This small, quick impulse "pops" through the barrier, restoring range of motion and relieving somatic dysfunction. Successful HVLA may or may not cause audible "cracking" of the back at the targeted vertebral segment. However, Osteopathic correction of a Somatic Dysfunction is most certainly NOT limited to a patient's back. Many times there will be no audible "crack" or "pop" whenever a Somatic Dysfunction is succesfully corrected by a practitioner of OMM (be they D.O. or M.D.).
It should also be noted that there are quite a few M.D. practitioners of OMM.
[edit] Sources
- Ward, Robert C. et al; Foundations for Osteopathic Medicine (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincot Williams and Wilkins. ISBN 0-7817-3497-5.
