March 21, 2006 – Spinal manipulations practiced by professional osteopaths would relieve low back pain. This is indicated by the results of a meta-analysis published in one of the publications of the important London publisher. BioMed Central (BMC)1.
American researchers analyzed and compared the results of six clinical trials carried out on 900 subjects suffering from low back pain. For each trial, a portion of the subjects received osteopathic treatment consisting of a series of spinal manipulations performed by a professional osteopath. The results obtained were compared to those of a control group which received a placebo intervention, a conventional treatment or no treatment.
According to the authors, in each of the trials analyzed, patients who received osteopathic treatment suffered much less than patients in the control groups, both in the short term, in the medium and in the long term. In general, osteopathy would provide relief that persists for up to three months after the last treatment.
These results indicate that the benefits of osteopathic manipulations cannot be attributed to a placebo effect, the researchers say. More research is needed, they say, to elucidate the mechanism by which osteopathic manipulations relieve lower back pain.
Osteopathy is a therapeutic technique developed at the end of the XIXe century by the Dr Andrew Taylor Still, American physician and surgeon. The practice of osteopathy has been recognized in all American states since 1974. Great Britain was, in 1993, the first European country to do the same.
Osteopathy does not enjoy such recognition in Quebec. The Register of Osteopaths of Quebec admits as a member any person having obtained a university degree in health sciences or the equivalent (physiotherapy, biology, pharmacy, etc.), who has followed a training of 1,200 hours in osteopathy and passed with success of theoretical and practical exams.
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
According to Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies.
1. Licciardone JC, Brimhall AK, King LN. Osteopathic manipulative treatment for low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, BMC Musculoskelet Disord, 2005 Aug 4; 6:43.
