New research has come to light analysing the association of Spinal Manipulative Therapy (SMT) with the clinical benefit and harm for acute low back pain. The study spans a systematic review and meta-analysis of data to come to conclusions appropriate for clinical application.
Pertinent Results:
Within the study, 40 of the articles studied were identified that as relevant to effectiveness in creating this specific issue, with an additional 8 articles relevant to being contrary to this, causing harm. In the final data synthesis, 26 Random Controlled Trials were collated and analysed, offering variation to the process
Clinical Application & Conclusions:
The main points to be taken from the study that can be applied to practices are:
For acute low back pain, SMT produced statistically significant advantages for both pain and function. The testing for this ran up to 6 weeks.
The benefit for acute low back pain was −9.95mm (on a 0-100mm scale), which is similar to the amount of benefit associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
The effect size for the improvement of function was −0.39, which is roughly equivalent to an improvement in the RMDQ score of between 1 and 2.5 points.
Taking this into account, it can be gathered that there is more benefit than harm to cases of low back pain from Spinal Manipulative Therapy; a claim that the results of this study support.
The Publication Information for this study is as follows:
JAMA 2017; 317(14): 1451-1460. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.3086
Pain in the lower back can be extremely restricting in everyday activities. It can be painful for prolonged periods or shooting pains for short periods; either way low back pain is an inconvenience and one that spinal treatment could help alleviate to some extent. If you are suffering from a similar muscular issue, our chiropractors are trained in exercises and massages that treat a variety of pains. Use our contact form to get in touch with us for any queries or appointments.
