September 15, 2006 – As many people turn to chiropractic1 to treat their back pain, a team of Italian researchers2 attempted to assess the short and long term effects of spinal manipulation. Result: they would reduce acute lower back pain and sciatic neuralgia caused by a herniated disc.
The researchers evaluated two groups of around 50 people aged 19 to 63. The subjects received, in the first group, five treatments per week of manipulations performed on the spine, more precisely called spinal manipulations (up to 20 treatments of 5 minutes over 30 days, depending on the patient’s needs). The participants in the second group, on the other hand, received a sham treatment that was more of a massage.
Subjects were selected at random from two medical centers in Rome, Italy. Everyone did not know which group they belonged to. As a consultant for a herniated disc, they described their pain as moderate or severe (5 on a scale of 0 to 10). They were also experiencing radiating pain in one leg.
During the month of treatment, they had to keep a diary in which they noted the absence or presence of pain, its intensity, its radiation, the use or not of anti-inflammatory drugs. These same parameters were also evaluated during consultations with the chiropractor, after 15, 30, 45, 90 and 180 days.
In general, the group who received chiropractic treatment experienced greater and faster relief. Among them, 28% said they no longer experienced local pain against only 6% in the other group.
Similarly, 55% of the subjects in the first group said they no longer felt radiating pain against 20% in those who received sham treatment. They suffered from pain longer and used more anti-inflammatory drugs.
The researchers were surprised to find that massages mimicking spinal manipulations also reduced pain after 30 days. They concede that their study should be resumed by considering this aspect more closely.
Spinal manipulations are performed, with the hands, on the spine to adjust the vertebrae or muscles of the back, in order to amplify the movement of the joints, to release blockages or to alleviate pain.
Claudia Morissette – HealthPassport.net
1. On this subject, see on our site: Chiropractic therapy sheet.
2. Santilli V, Beghi E, Finucci S. Chiropractic manipulation in the treatment of acute back pain and sciatica with disc protrusion: a randomized double-blind clinical trial of active and simulated spinal manipulations, Spine J. 2006 Mar-Apr; 6 (2): 131-7.