spinalmanipulativetherapy

CF 145: Kids Still Hurt, Manipulation For Lumbar Radiculopathy, & Lack Of Attention On The Boards For Biopsychosocial Matters

Today we’re going to talk about how kids can hurt, SMT for chronic lumbar radiculopathy, lack of testing on biopsychosocial matters. 

But first, here’s that sweet sweet bumper music

 

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OK, we are back and you have found the Chiropractic Forward Podcast where we are making evidence-based chiropractic fun, profitable, and accessible while we make you and your patients better all the way around. 

 

We’re the fun kind of research. Not the stuffy, high-brow kind of research. We’re research talk over a couple of beers.

 

I’m Dr. Jeff Williams and I’m your host for the Chiropractic Forward podcast.  

  

If you haven’t yet I have a few things you should do. 

• Like our Facebook page, 
• Join our private Facebook group and interact, and then 
• go review our podcast on iTunes and other podcast platforms. 
• We also have an evidence-based brochure and poster store at chiropracticforward.com
• While you’re there, join our weekly email newsletter. No spam, just a reminder when the newest episodes go live. Nothing special so don’t worry about signing up. Just one a week friends. Check your JUNK folder!!

 

Do it do it do it. 

 

You have found yourself smack dab in the middle of Episode #145

 

Now if you missed last week’s episode , we talked about some of the most common musculoskeletal surgeries and the incredible lack of research backing them up. We also talked about how chiropractic performs when lined up against multidisciplinary treatment. Check it out after this one. Make sure you don’t miss that info. Keep up with the class. 

While we’re on the topic of being smart, did you know that you can use our website as a resource? Quick and easy, you can go to chiropracticforward.com, click on Episodes, and use the search function to find whatever you want quickly and easily. With over 100 episodes in the tank and an average of 2-3 papers covered per episode, we have somewhere between 250 and 300 papers that can be quickly referenced along with their talking points. 

Just so you know, all of the research we talk about in each episode is cited in the show notes for each episode if you’re looking to dive in a little deeper. 

 

On the personal end of things…..

I think I’m getting busier. Feels like it anyway. 143 last week and the new patients are staying steady. Which is a good thing. I have the kind of practice that depends on new patients. When you’re evidence-based and you don’t make a ton of long-term recommendations…..you don’t make patients think they need to depend on you every week for the rest of their lives….well then, you have a constant turnover of patients. 

My longest recommendation is for about a 3 month plan. Honestly, most people are feeling so good that they don’t wrap up a 3 month plan. Some of you agree with that and some of you will say I should be holding them to the program but, research is clear on this. 

We should be teaching patients to self-manage at home. Not depending on us. And that’s part of it. Once they start self-managing and they’re feeling great, where’s the motivation to pay someone to mostly do what they’re doing at home already? I get it. And I don’t fuss with patients over their schedules when they’re doing amazing in the first damn place. There’s a point where that type of fussing and borderline bullying starts to look like greed. And I’m sure none of us want to look greedy. At least I don’t. 

That’s the epitome of being patient-centered, right?

But the point is, patient-centered, evidence-based chiropractors need a steady stream of new patients. 

Now don’t get me wrong; I have wellness patients. They just aren’t the bulk of my practice. If I just depended on wellness/maintenance patients, we’d be in a world of hurt up in here, up in here. 

Not long ago, evidence-based chiros threw monkey poo at maintenance. Then Andres Eklund came around and cleaned up the monkey mess. Then a systematic review recently came out saying maintenance care can now be considered evidence-based. It felt like slipping into a warm coat in the winter, ya know. Lol. 

Now, that doesn’t mean once a week for life like the subluxation slayers lay on people. For the right population, once every month or two….or maybe every three months….that does indeed make difference and make some sense. If you’re unfamiliar with Andres Eklund, just go to our episodes link at chiropracticforward.com and use the search function there to search for maintenance care or Nordic papers and dive in. It’s wonderful stuff. 

I love it when the hard work has already been done by people smarter than me. It’s good stuff. 

Outside of all that boring stuff, still just trying to stay strong and healthy. I’m exercising much more regularly and really watching what I’m eating. It’s paying off too. I lost 7 pounds last week. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking…..how could Jeff get any sexier than he already is but I’m just going to say, hold my beer and watch. My michelob ultra beer that is…..because, you know….I’m on a diet and all. Lol. 

I have one kid at Texas Tech where COVID is spreading like a bad STD and then I have another in person in junior high. So far in the first 5 weeks they’ve had 2 teachers and 2 kids out with the Rona. That may sound like a lot but, honestly, this junior high has about 1400 kids so……that’s not much. 

The kid at Tech thinks he wants to come home every 2 weeks for the weekend. I love seeing the little knucklehead but another part of me is like…..you stay over there on that side of the house…..I’ll be on this side. He’s a big hugger. I’m normally good for a hug and all but…..Rona has me trying to stay healthy. You can’t turn down a hug from your kiddo though. Still……it’s a bit nerve wracking. 

I tell people and you may have heard me say it but, most folks do fine if they get COVID and I expect I’ll do fine as well. Other than being out of shape and overweight, I’m not particularly unhealthy. Most folks, if they get it, they just stay home in bed, fluids, all that rigamarole but no big deal really. 

Me….and most of you….we have to close down out businesses essentially. I have 14 employees, y’all. They have families. We bill out anywhere from $20k-$25k per week typically. At minimum, I’m probably out for 2 weeks. That means missing out on up to $50k in billing. 

One word, two syllables….Day-um….Hell no. I’ll just do everything I can to stay healthy in the first place. Even if some knuckleheads don’t understand or get it. 

Speaking of…..These anti-maskers….good Lord. I don’t know how they are where you live but here in Texas, did you know all kinds of degrees have morphed into now allowing the owner of the degree to now be an expert on epidemiology? Very powerful degrees. I’ve never heard of a degree that morphs into epidemiological expertise but evidently, it’s a fact these days. 

I saw a great quote from a fellow chiro that went something like this, “I guess I just don’t understand the argument anti-maskers make in general. Regardless of anything, for me, as a healthcare professional, I need to be flexible and consider being wrong as part of my logic. Simply put, maybe masks work, maybe they don’t but it really doesn’t matter what you believe. The question sreally is, if you’re wrong can you live with the consequences?

I wear a mask because I believe it reduces the risk of exposure for me and to those around me, but more importantly, if I’m wrong I won’t hurt anybody at all. Including myself. If you don’t wear a mask and you’re wrong, then the effects can be devastating during a really off day when things go they way they’re not supposed to go. 

Or, how about the sneeze test? Have someone sneeze on you with a mask on and then have them sneeze on you without a mask on. 

Which do you prefer?

End of story. 

Let’s get on with it. We have some pretty cool stuff to breeze through today. 

 

Item #1

Let’s start with this one called “Musculoskeletal pain distribution in 1,000 Danish schoolchildren aged 8–16 years” by Fuglkjaer et. al. it also has Jan Hartivigsen on it as well. It was published in Chiropractic and Manual Therapies in August of 2020(Fuglkjaer S 2020). 

 

Hot tamale, hot tamale, that tamale….it’s hot…

 

Why They Did It

The objectives were to group children aged 8 to 16 according to their distribution of pain in the spine, lower- and upper extremity, determine the proportion of children in each subgroup, and describe these in relation to sex, age, number- and length of episodes with pain.

 

How They Did It

Data on musculoskeletal pain from about 1,000 Danish schoolchildren was collected over 3 school years (2011 to 2014) using weekly mobile phone text message responses from parents, indicating whether their child had pain in the spine, lower extremity and/or upper extremity. Result are presented for each school year individually.

 

What They Found

• Around 30% reporting no pain, around 40% reporting pain in one region, and around 30% reporting pain in two or three regions.
• Most commonly children experienced pain from the lower extremities at about 60%, the the spine at about 30%, and then upper extremities at about 23%. 
• Twice as many girls reported pain in all three sites

 

Wrap It Up

Danish schoolchildren often experienced pain at more than one pain site during a schoolyear, and a significantly larger proportion of girls than boys reported pain in all three regions. This could indicate that, at least in some instances, the musculoskeletal system should be regarded as one entity, both for clinical and research purposes.

 

Item #2

This one is excellent. It’s called “Spinal manipulation for subacute and chronic lumbar radiculopathy: a randomized controlled trial” by Ghasabmahaleh, et. al. and published in The American Journal of Medicine on September of 2020(Ghasabmahaleh S 2020). 

 

Sizzlin, smokin’. some stout stuff, y’all. 

 

Why They Did It

The authors wanted to evaluate the efficacy of spinal manipulation for the management of non-acute lumbar radiculopathy.

 

How They Did It

• It was performed in a university hospital
• It was a randomized controlled trial with two parallel arms. 
• 44 patients with unilateral radicular low back pain lasting more than 4 weeks were randomly allocated to manipulation and control groups.
• The primary outcome was intensity of the low back pain on the VAS scale
• Secondary outcome was the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire score
• In addition they measure spinal ranges of motion. 
• All patients had physiotherapy
• The manipulation group got three sessions of manipulation therapy, one week apart. 
• For manipulation, they used Robert Maigne’s technique. 

 

What They Found

• Both groups experienced a significant decrease in back and leg pain
• However, only the manipulation group showed significantly favorable results in the Oswestry scores, and the straight leg raise test. 
• All ranges of motion increased significantly with manipulation but the control group showed favorable results only in right and left rotations and in extension
• Between-group analyses showed significantly better outcomes for manipulation in all measurements with large effect sizes

 

 

Wrap It Up

They wrap it up by saying, “Spinal manipulation improves the results of physiotherapy over a period of three months for patients with subacute or chronic lumbar radiculopathy.”

 

I say hell with that conclusion. Lol. I say that PT ADDS TO spinal manipulation. I’ve told my patients for years now that there is great research for spinal manipulation and there is great research for exercise. It’s not about one or the other. They’re not mutually exclusive. The research is best for combining the two. 

 

If you go to a PT and just get exercise, that’s not the full meal deal. You’re a taco or two short of a combo meal there. 

 

If you go to a chiropractor and only get adjustments, yes, there should be some relief but, again, you a taco short. You could be better. 

 

You don’t want evidence-based chiros out there in the world wishing you didn’t suck so much. Get on the exercise rehab. Learn. I didn’t used to know much about it. Hell, if I’m being honest, there’s A LOT more I still need to learn but I’m a hell of a lot better than I once was. 

 

Before we get to the next paper, I want to tell you a little about this new tool on the market called Drop Release. I love new toys! If you’re into soft tissue work, then it’s your new best friend. Heck if you’re just into getting more range of motion in your patients, then it’s your new best friend. 

Drop Release uses fast stretch to stimulate the Golgi Tendon Organ reflex.  Which causes instant and dramatic muscle relaxation and can restore full ROM to restricted joints like shoulders and hips in seconds.  

 

Picture a T bar with a built-in drop piece.  This greatly reduces time needed for soft tissue treatment, leaving more time for other treatments per visit, or more patients per day.  Drop Release is like nothing else out there, and you almost gotta see it to understand, so check out the videos on the website.

 

It’s inventor, Dr. Chris Howson, from the great state of North Dakota, is a listener and friend. He offered our listeners a great discount on his product. When you order, if you put in the code ‘HOTSTUFF’ all one word….as in hot stuff….coming up!! If you enter HOTSTUFF in the coupon code area, Dr. Howson will give you $50 off of your purchase. 

 

Go check Drop Release at droprelease.com and tell Dr. Howson I sent you.

 

Item #3

Last one today is called “The prevalence of psychosocial related terminology in chiropractic program courses, chiropractic accreditation standards, and chiropractic examining board testing content in the United States” by Gliedt et. al. published in Chiropractic and Manual Therapies on 21st of August 2020(Gliedt J 2020). 

 

On the hottest, freshest frijoles for the Forward fans. 

 

Why They Did It

Chiropractors treat spine complaints and therefore should be trained in the full spectrum of the biopsychosocial model. This study examines the use of psychosocial related terminology in United States doctor of chiropractic program (DCP) curricula, the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) standards, and the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) test plans.

 

How They Did It

Nineteen academic course catalogs, CCE curricular standards and meta-competencies, and NBCE test plans were studied

 

Wrap It Up

Despite evidence suggesting the influential role of psychosocial factors in determinants of health and healthcare delivery, these factors are poorly reflected in United States DCP curricula. This underappreciation is further evidenced by the lack of representation of psychosocial terminology in NBCE parts III and IV test plans. The reasons for this are theoretical; lack of clarity or enforcement of CCE meta-competencies may contribute.

 

So when you hear people ask what we can do to make this profession better, stronger, and more respected…..this is just one more thing that can be done. 

 

Our institutions can recognize the biopsychosocial aspect of chronic pain, they can teach it, they can teach yellow flags, and then they can test it. 

 

Then we can look at making entrance into the schools a little more stringent and we can look at taking the subluxation slayers and spine whisperer courses out of our colleges. If someone wants to learn how to be doctor-centered and use x-rays to manipulate patients out of thousands of dollars a year, they need to be learning that garbage outside of an accredited chiropractic college. It has no place in our institutes beyond some historical perspective. 

 

Over and out. Mic drop, bam, shazam, ala cazam. 

 

That’s it. Y’all be safe. Keep changing the world and our profession from your little corner of the world. Continue taking care of yourselves and taking care of your neighbors. Tough times are upon us but, the sun will shine again. Trust it, believe it, count on it.

 

Let’s get to the message. Same as it is every week. 

 

 

Key Takeaways

 

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Remember the evidence-informed brochures and posters at chiropracticforward.com. 

 

 

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The Message

I want you to know with absolute certainty that when Chiropractic is at its best, you can’t beat the risk vs reward ratio because spinal pain is primarily a movement-related pain and typically responds better to movement-related treatment rather than chemical treatments like pills and shots.

 

When compared to the traditional medical model, research and clinical experience show us patients can get good to excellent results for headaches, neck pain, back pain, and joint pain to name just a few.

 

It’s safe and cost-effective can decrease surgeries & disability and we do it through conservative, non-surgical means with minimal hassle to the patient. 

 

And, if the patient treats preventativly after initial recovery, we can usually keep it that way while raising the overall level of health!

 

Key Point:

At the end of the day, patients should have the guarantee of having the best treatment that offers the least harm. When it comes to non-complicated musculoskeletal complaints….

 

That’s Chiropractic!

 

Contact

Send us an email at dr dot williams at chiropracticforward.com and let us know what you think of our show and tell us your suggestions for future episodes. 

 

Feedback and constructive criticism is a blessing and so are subscribes and excellent reviews on podcast platforms. 

 

We know how this works by now. If you value something, you have to share it, interact with it, review it, talk about it from time to time, and actively hit a few buttons to support it here and there when asked. It really does make a big difference. 

 

Connect

We can’t wait to connect with you again next week. From the Chiropractic Forward Podcast flight deck, this is Dr. Jeff Williams saying upward, onward, and forward. 

 

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About the Author & Host

Dr. Jeff Williams - Fellow of the International Academy of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine - Chiropractor in Amarillo, TX, Chiropractic Advocate, Author, Entrepreneur, Educator, Businessman, Marketer, and Healthcare Blogger & Vlogger

 

Bibliography

Fuglkjaer S, V. W., Hartvigsen J, Dissing KB, Junge T, Hestbaek L, (2020). "Musculoskeletal pain distribution in 1,000 Danish schoolchildren aged 8–16 years." Chiropr Man Therap 28(45).

Ghasabmahaleh S, R. Z., Dadarkhah A, Hamidipanah S, Mofrad R, Najafi S, (2020). "Spinal manipulation for subacute and chronic lumbar radiculopathy: a randomized controlled trial." The American Journal Of Medicine.

Gliedt J, B. P., Holmes B, (2020). "The prevalence of psychosocial related terminology in chiropractic program courses, chiropractic accreditation standards, and chiropractic examining board testing content in the United States." Chiropr Man Therap 28(43).

 

CF 143: New Paper: Spinal Manipulation Has No Effect On Chronic Pain - Our Experts Rebuttal  

 

Today we’re going to talk about a new paper in JAMA saying that spinal manipulative therapy has not effect. Yeah…..BIG topic today so keep your seat, buckle up, I got some stuff to say. 

 

But first, here’s that sweet sweet bumper music

 

Subscribe button

 

OK, we are back and you have found the Chiropractic Forward Podcast where we are making evidence-based chiropractic fun, profitable, and accessible while we make you and your patients better all the way around. 

 

We’re the fun kind of research. Not the stuffy, high-brow kind of research. We’re research talk over a couple of beers.

 

I’m Dr. Jeff Williams and I’m your host for the Chiropractic Forward podcast.  

 

If you haven’t yet I have a few things you should do. 

• Like our Facebook page, 
• Join our private Facebook group and interact, and then 
• go review our podcast on iTunes and other podcast platforms. 
• We also have an evidence-based brochure and poster store at chiropracticforward.com
• While you’re there, join our weekly email newsletter. No spam, just a reminder when the newest episodes go live. Nothing special so don’t worry about signing up. Just one a week friends. Check your JUNK folder!!

 

Do it do it do it. 

 

You have found yourself smack dab in the middle of Episode #143

 

Now if you missed last week’s episode , we talked about nonoperative disc treatment, Vitamin D3 for depression, and the biopsychosocial part of chronic pain. I used big words on this one folks. Make sure you don’t miss that info. Keep up with the class. 

While we’re on the topic of being smart, did you know that you can use our website as a resource? Quick and easy, you can go to chiropracticforward.com, click on Episodes, and use the search function to find whatever you want quickly and easily. With over 100 episodes in the tank and an average of 2-3 papers covered per episode, we have somewhere between 250 and 300 papers that can be quickly referenced along with their talking points. 

Just so you know, all of the research we talk about in each episode is cited in the show notes for each episode if you’re looking to dive in a little deeper. 

 

On the personal end of things…..

First thing is, my website is jacking up in the last few weeks and it’s about to make me lose every marble I ever had in my noggin. So if you prefer reading the transcript on the website or listening via the website, I apologize if you’ve had issues doing so lately. Trust me, I am working diligently with people that know how to do this stuff to get it lined out and working properly and dependably

 

Next, my kid is coming home for the weekend from college. Pretty excited to see the knucklehead. 

My practice was busier this week. Not necessarily in the total numbers of visits. We ended up somewhere back around 140 last week. Which was about where we started when we came back from COVID full time. 

We were at about 140-145 or so per week and then fell off to about 125. That was mad Jeff time. Pouty Jeff time there. But, it was also back to school time and that’s traditionally the slower part of the year for me. 

Last week, we ended up with about 22 new patients in one week. Hell yeah I’ll take it. Bet you’re sweet bippy….pass me some more of that deep dish of deliciousness. 

That 22 should boost next week’s totals and that makes for content Jeff. Not happy…..no….I’m still down from Pre-Rona and still don’t have an associate so….not happy Jeff but definitely more content Jeff. Not only did I have the 22 new patients but a heaping spoonful of re-exams on patients that haven’t been in since the Rona began ruining crap. 

So, all in all, we’re moving the right direction. 

I was listening to an episode of mine from a couple of weeks ago. Kind of like game tape. Like the coaches go back and watch the game tape so they can learn about what they want and don’t want. My wife just says I like to hear myself talk and to her I say….you are fake news. 

But anyway, I predicted that by now, more schools would be closing down. At the moment, I stand corrected. More schools have not yet shut down. I also said that I hope I am wrong. And I’m saying right now that I’m glad I was wrong. I’m a big enough man to say it out loud and proclaim mine own idiocy!! 

Or am I an idiot. Today, which is 9/4, happy birthday to my wife Meg BTW, today I took note that Lubbock has reported 849 new cases in the last 3 days. Three days, y’all. 

They’re averaging 283 new cases every single day. And it’s because of that college. A little birdy in the Texas Tech healthcare system told me they got an internal email sayign basically that things are getting our of control on the campus already because people living off campus are being dumb and spreading it on campus. They say it’s expected to get a lot worse after this weekend. 

So, maybe I’m not an idiot afterall. We know the incubation on this thing is about 2 weeks and they went to school right at 2 weeks ago. And now here we are. 

I do still believe it’s only a matter of time but for now, I was sort of wrong and I’m sort of OK with it. 

Let’s get on with it shall we?

 

 

Before we get to the next paper, I want to tell you a little about this new tool on the market called Drop Release. I love new toys! If you’re into soft tissue work, then it’s your new best friend. Heck if you’re just into getting more range of motion in your patients, then it’s your new best friend. 

Drop Release uses fast stretch to stimulate the Golgi Tendon Organ reflex.  Which causes instant and dramatic muscle relaxation and can restore full ROM to restricted joints like shoulders and hips in seconds.  

 

Picture a T bar with a built-in drop piece.  This greatly reduces time needed for soft tissue treatment, leaving more time for other treatments per visit, or more patients per day.  Drop Release is like nothing else out there, and you almost gotta see it to understand, so check out the videos on the website.

 

It’s inventor, Dr. Chris Howson, from the great state of North Dakota, is a listener and friend. He offered our listeners a great discount on his product. When you order, if you put in the code ‘HOTSTUFF’ all one word….as in hot stuff….coming up!! If you enter HOTSTUFF in the coupon code area, Dr. Howson will give you $50 off of your purchase. 

 

Go check Drop Release at droprelease.com and tell Dr. Howson I sent you.

 

 

 

Item #1

Alright, lets get to this POS paper. I say that because it doesn’t confirm my bias. Lol. It’s called “Effect of Spinal Manipulative and Mobilization Therapies in Young Adults With Mild to Moderate Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial” by Thomas et. al(Thomas J 2020). published in JAMA on August 5, 2020. Hot steamy pile of dog crap here…big plate of shooey. 

 

Why They Did It

To evaluate the comparative effectiveness of spinal manipulation and spinal mobilization at reducing pain and disability compared with a placebo control group (sham cold laser) in a cohort of young adults with chronic LBP. As if this question has not already been answered a million jillion times. 

 

How They Did It

• The study was single-blinded
• placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial
• 3 treatment groups
• Conducted at the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute at Ohio University from June 2013 to August 2017
• 4903 subjects eligible
• 4741 did not meet inclusion criteria
• 162 patients with chronic Low Back Pain qualified for randomization 
• Participants received 6 treatment sessions of 
• spinal manipulation
• spinal mobilization
• sham cold laser therapy - placebo - during a 3-week period. 
• Outcome measures were the change from baseline in Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) score over the last 7 days and the change in disability assessed with the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire 48 to 72 hours after completion of the 6 treatments.

 

 

What They Found

• There were no significant group differences for sex, age, body mass index, duration of LBP symptoms, depression, fear avoidance, current pain, average pain over the last 7 days, and self-reported disability.
• At the primary end point, there was no significant difference in change in pain scores between spinal manipulation and spinal mobilization, spinal manipulation and placebo, or spinal mobilization and placebo
• There was no significant difference in change in self-reported disability scores between spinal manipulation and spinal mobilization, spinal manipulation and placebo, or spinal mobilization and placebo

 

So it appears from this paper that spinal manipulation and spinal mobilization has absolutely NO utility NO use and makes NO sense for anything. Basically. This….when so many other papers have shown incredible uitlity, incredible effectiveness, and incredible cost-effectiveness. It makes very little to zero sense at all. 

 

Wrap It Up

Their conclusions was as follows, “In this randomized clinical trial, neither spinal manipulation nor spinal mobilization appeared to be effective treatments for mild to moderate chronic LBP.”

 

OK, I had to consult with those much smarter than I to really get a full picture of what’s going on here. Because I feel like someone’s picking on us a little here. You cannot have so many papers supporting spinal manipulative therapy and then this say there’s no use whatsoever. You simply can’t. Something smells awry in the land of Denmark, up in here, up in here. 

 

I’ll start with Dr. James Lehman. Dr. Lehman is an Associate Professor of Clinical Sciences at the University of Bridgeport/College of Chiropractic and Director of Health Sciences Postgraduate Education. Dr. James Lehman is a board-certified, chiropractic orthopedist. He teaches orthopedic and neurological examination and differential diagnosis of neuromusculoskeletal conditions. In addition, he provides clinical rotations for fourth-year chiropractic students and chiropractic residents in the community health center and a sports medicine rotation in the training facility of the local professional baseball team. He’s the driving force behind the Diplomate program for Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine. 

 

As Director, Dr. James Lehman developed the three-year, full-time resident training program in chiropractic orthopedics and neuromusculoskeletal medicine. The program offers training within primary care facilities of a Federally Qualified Health Center and Patient-Centered Medical Home. While practicing in New Mexico, he mentored fourth-year, UNM medical students. He has been generous with advice and mentorship for yours truly as well. We could go on and on. 

 

I sent this paper to Dr. Lehman and asked for his opinion on it. 

Dr. Lehman said, “I am not favorably impressed with the study for several reasons. It is my opinion that this study was simplistic and non-specific. When studies base the effort on determining the outcomes of a specific modality without a specific diagnosis, I question the outcomes.

 

As a chiropractic specialist, I use the definition promulgated by the National Pain Strategy. Chronic pain occurs more than 50% of the days for six months or longer. This study mentioned that pain occurred only greater than 3 months with no mention of the number of days that pain was experienced. In addition, this study used only mild and moderate chronic pain. It is my opinion that these patients may be experiencing mild symptoms for several reasons that are not relieved by manual medicine interventions. For example, poor posture and distress with resultant myofascial pain without joint dysfunction. Another example would be a patient with a true chronic pain condition that has centralized in the CNS.  These patients normally experience only a reduction in pain for a short period of time.

 

This study offers a simplistic diagnosis and not one that indicates the need for manual medicine interventions.

 

I always question studies that base the need of spinal manipulation on the finding of reduced joint motion. Although chiropractic programs teach motion palpation, the evidence demonstrates the examination procedure to be less than dependable.

 

“Regardless of the degree of standardization, interrater reliability of motion palpation of the thoracic spine for identifying pain and motion restriction performed by experienced examiners was poor and often not better than chance. These findings question the continued use of motion palpation as part of the clinical assessment as an isolated tool to detect loss of intersegmental joint play.” Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4480941/

 

As we know, patients that present for chiropractic care for chronic low back pain demonstrate pain scale findings higher than 2/10 but more likely 5-10/10. Less than 5/10 indicates that the pain does not interfere with the patient’s activities of daily living. Hence, I believe the study was poorly designed. Why study the effectiveness of a manual medicine for an insignificant condition?

 

Thank you Dr. Lehman for such a thorough response and for laying out his thoughts so effectively on this. He really is a gem of this profession. 

 

I exchanged emails with Dr. Christine Goertz. Her resume is again, so long and impressive that we can’t do it right here but, in short, she is the Chief Operating Officer of the Spine Institute for Quality. She is also an Adjunct Associate at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University Medical Center and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health at the University of Iowa.Sshe has received nearly $32M in federal funding as either principal investigator or co-principal investigator, primarily from NIH and the Department of Defense, and has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed papers. 

 

I almost hated to ask Dr. Goertz because I know how busy she is, but honestly, who better to ask, right? And, at the end of the day, I followed an old saying I’ve kept in mind my whole life. And that saying is, “No asky, no getty”

 

And, as expected, she did not have the chance to dive into it head first but did offer this, “Although I can’t comment on the details of the methods Without a deeper dive, one thing that strikes me is the decreased utility of studying spinal manipulation in isolation, as it is generally delivered in the larger context of chiropractic care.”

 

Which alludes to something I’ve said on this podcast so many times. Chiropractic according to every chiropractor outside of strictly subluxation slayers, is not a modality. It is a profession with A LOT of tools under its umbrella. Still, there’s something smelly about a paper claiming absolutely zero effectiveness of SMT. Really? None?

 

I emailed one of the smartest dynamic duos I have ever experienced in my entire chiropractic career, Dr. Anthony Nicholson and Dr. Matthew Long. They’re like the batman and robin of chiropractic geniuses. Honestly, good luck finding more intelligent and more thoughtful chiropractors anywhere. They are the creators of all online education curriculum through the CDI courses which are what is used by the Diplomate of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine. Dr. Nicholson is a Diplmoate of Orthopedics as well as a Diplomate in Neurology. 

 

Dr. Nicholson shared this with me. He said, “In relation to the article, firstly, I’d say that I don’t have researcher-level credentials in critiquing study design, validity, statistical methods etc.

 

I do obviously read a fair bit of research and integrate that with teaching and clinical experience.

 

This study seems pretty light to me in several respects and I’m not surprised by the conclusions.  The number of participants was pretty low (162), which lowers the power of the study to draw accurate conclusions.  Overwhelmingly though, here is the dilemma: there is obviously a strong desire to test certain clinical interventions and compare them.  

 

This means reducing the number of variables and attempting to isolate the specific effect of each intervention to the greatest degree possible.  The problem is that these interventions aren’t meant to be delivered in such a sterile way.  This omits the extremely important context effect and ritualistic aspect of a clinical encounter.  It doesn’t take into account the words, concepts, explanations and empathy of the doctor that creates a certain context in which the specific intervention is delivered.  The same goes for any intervention, be it drugs or surgery.  Pain is all about meaning.  We are priming a patient’s brain to receive a certain sensory input in terms of what that means.  

 

The bottom line is that a clinical interaction is so much more than the sum of its parts, and each individual part is very tricky (I won’t say impossible, but you could say it’s pretty close) to evaluate in isolation.  Where does that leave us?  I don’t know!

 

But, what I do know (like all clinicians I suspect) is that I see meaningful changes to people’s lives everyday with these interventions when they’re wrapped in the right clinical context (a successful therapeutic alliance with the patient that is built upon trust and rapport).  It’s difficult to study that!”

 

I don’t know how one could say it any better than Dr. Nicholson. He has such a way with words, I swear. Are all Australians as eloquent? I’m not sure. I’m a Texan, I’m pretty gruff and rough around the edges I’m afraid. I don’t speak his language but luckily I understand it. Lol. 

 

His partner in CDI and in fighting chiro crime….remember the batman and robin reference….anyway, Dr. Matthew Long wrote an outstanding article on this type of study that I’ll link in the show notes. Please go check it out. 

 

He says, “For many chiropractors the realities of clinical practice and the supposed truths of scientific research often seem irreconcilable. This is particularly apparent when reviewing research that investigates the effects of spinal manipulation upon a specific condition. 

 

Often there is little, if any, difference in outcome between the placebo (sham) intervention and the 'real' procedure. In both cases the patient is seen to improve, often quite substantially. However, the study is unable to show conclusively that the active treatment is better than the sham. This phenomenon is especially prevalent when the intervention is being tested for its capacity to reduce pain, which carries a large emotional connotation into the experimental setting. We can see this in a recent migraine study by Chaibi and colleagues (1), who concluded that the significant beneficial effect obtained by sufferers was "probably a placebo response".

 

To most clinicians this is deeply unsatisfying. While it is true that the science of placebo has undergone a reappraisal and a softening of opinion in recent years, the average hard working chiropractor probably feels that there is more to their daily practice than simply putting on a good show. 

 

While many experiments are based upon our ability to modulate pain, others seek to determine how manipulation might influence the the biomechanics of a patients spine. After all, the dominant model by which spinal manipulation has been justified for over 100 years is largely mechanical in nature (whilst acknowledging the desire to reduce some sort of neural distress that resulted). 

 

Unfortunately these biomechanical experiments are sometimes even less impressive in their outcomes, and there is little difference between the active treatment and the control. However, before we become too jaded I think that we should pause for a moment and ask ourselves two important questions:

 

1. Are we posing research questions based upon a legacy model of spinal manipulation?
2. Can the design of these studies preclude us from finding any meaningful answers?

 

It is my contention that the science of neuromusculoskeletal health has evolved considerably, and yet we are perhaps still looking at the world through an outdated lens.

 

This dynamic duo are the future of this profession. I’m including the link to the article in the show notes at this point in the show so go there to episode 143, scroll down and click on it. Stop arguing like a damn teenager and just do it or you go to bed with no supper. Don’t you roll your eyes at me, Give me your phone, you’re grounded.”

 

Another very relevant though from Dr. Long in the article is this:

“Some of the things we know about spinal manipulation include:

1. It is not a mechanical realignment.

2. It does not help relieve pain by increasing range of motion.

3. It can produce changes in smoothness and quality of movement, which are critical for stability and control.

4. It influences the brain's perception of the spine, and how it can (and should) move.”

 

It goes on and, as with anything from Dr. Nicholson and Dr. Long, it is eloquent, easy to understand, and basically amazing. This is why you always hear the Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine Diplomates talk about the outstanding education you get in the program. It’s largely due to these two amazing doctors and educators. 

 

Go read the rest of that article, please.  

 

https://cdi.edu.au/clarity/its_the_whole_package.php

 

Now, last but absolutely not least is one of my new favorite research superstars in our profession. We are going to have her on a future episode so keep watching for that. Dr. Katie Pohlman from Parker University was kind enough to send me her thoughts on the paper. 

Dr. Pohlman is Director of Research at Parker University and an inaugural fellow of the Chiropractic Academy of Research and Leadership (CARL) program. She received Researcher of the Year in 2020 from the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), is the current Vice President of the ACA’s Council on Women’s Health, and has served as Vice President of the ACA’s Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics. Dr. Pohlman received her Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree and M.S. in Clinical Research from Palmer College of Chiropractic and her Ph.D. in Pediatrics from the University of Alberta. We could keep going but I think you get the point. 

 

She’s one of the most impressive ‘newer’ researchers in our profession. I say newer in quotes because I only found out about Dr. Pohlman in the last few years. But trust me here, you’re going to be hearing and seeing A LOT more out of her in the future. 

 

Dr. Pohlman said this, “This was a well-designed study of manipulation and mobilization with a strong placebo arm. The population were young, non-obese individuals with chronic back pain. 

 

As stated in the discussion, the sample population baseline pain level on a 0-11 scale was ~4.3, which I feel left little room the clinical meaningful 2 points decrease. The study also used characteristics from a clinical prediction rule for inclusion of patients. 

 

The characteristic list that they use included patients having pain for less than 16 days. Since this study was looking at chronic pain this characteristic was not included. 

 

I support the idea of pre-identifying responders versus non-responders; however, the characteristics used in this study may not have been most useful for chronic pain patients. 

 

A more useful model at this time is the Andres Eklund ‘s psychological subgroups (which also have not be validated… watch for more studies in the near future). 

 

(NOTE: this study was published after the start of the RCT being discussed.) 

 

Another consideration for this study was the 3 weeks of care and the manipulation/mobilization techniques that were used. I will leave these concerns for clinicians to discuss.”

 

Katie is wonderful for taking time out of her day to offer us some insight on this. 

 

Now, I want to address the F4CP. The Foundation For Chiropractic Progress. They came out shortly after this paper with a press release in support of this paper. Saying it’s correct, they support it, and it is further proof that a D.O. or any other practitioner outside of a Doctor of Chiropractic is clearly ineffective. 

 

The insinuation is that no other practitioner can deliver an adjustment as well and as effectively as a chiropractor and that had the study included spinal manipulative therapy delivered by chiropractors, it would have shown clear effectiveness. 

 

Because, you know….chiropractors are evidently the ONLY practitioners that can adjust I guess. 

 

Let me get this straight up front; I love the F4CP. I support them. I love what they’ve done for our profession and are doing for our profession. I would say that I believe there are some TICs and some TORs in there and that’s not necessarily helpful for the evidence-based side of the profession but overall, it’s a great group and does a good job of being well-rounded and representing the profession as a whole.

 

With that being said, on this paper, I think the F4CP is just wrong to support the paper like this. For me, it’s lazy and almost comes off like the way a politician would slide around something. You know what I mean? Avoid the elephant in the room and say, “See there, had they used chiropractors, it’d been a different dealio all together because we’re the superstars nobody else can be. I don’t know…..I guess if the other spinal manipulative therapy people would maybe….I don’t ….try not to suck so much….that’s be great and all”

 

It’s BS and I don’t like their handling of it. I like their handling of just about everything else but whoever pulled the trigger on this, I just can’t agree with. There are holes to be poked in it. There are too many papers showing the effectiveness to sit around and let 3 PhDs set the tone for spinal manipulative therapy going forward. 

 

You think insurance companies, chiro haters, and trolls aren’t going to grab this and run like they stole something with this thing? Of course they will. And are. Hell, I’ve seen where chiropractors themselves are now saying the manipulation isn’t all that effective. Chiropractors y’all. Then you have the Airrosti folks who don’t adjust. We all have to do what we do and what we feel but come on man. I always say chiropractic isn’t an adjustment, it’s a profession. But let’s have some real talk here. The adjustment is still damn well the cornerstone of the profession. Don’t any of you kid yourselves on this. It is and it is for a reason. 

 

So for me, on this deal, the F4CP is wrong. Sorry to any of you that may be in the F4CP. I’m aware you didn’t ask my opinion first but I’m giving it second. Lol. 

 

I do support you overall. Just not here. 

 

 

The study isn’t an indictment of chiropractic in general but I’d say that this paper doesn’t take any of the other things a chiropractor does into account at all. When the pain is centralized and the CNS is upregulated, simple manipulation is a start but is only a tiny piece of the puzzle. 

 

 

Alright, that’s it. Y’all be safe. Keep changing the world and our profession from your little corner of the world. Continue taking care of yourselves and taking care of your neighbors. Tough times are upon us but, the sun will shine again. Trust it, believe it, count on it.

 

Let’s get to the message. Same as it is every week. 

 

 

Key Takeaways

 

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The Message

I want you to know with absolute certainty that when Chiropractic is at its best, you can’t beat the risk vs reward ratio because spinal pain is primarily a movement-related pain and typically responds better to movement-related treatment rather than chemical treatments like pills and shots.

 

When compared to the traditional medical model, research and clinical experience show us patients can get good to excellent results for headaches, neck pain, back pain, and joint pain to name just a few.

 

It’s safe and cost-effective can decrease surgeries & disability and we do it through conservative, non-surgical means with minimal hassle to the patient. 

 

And, if the patient treats preventativly after initial recovery, we can usually keep it that way while raising the overall level of health!

 

Key Point:

At the end of the day, patients should have the guarantee of having the best treatment that offers the least harm. When it comes to non-complicated musculoskeletal complaints….

 

That’s Chiropractic!

 

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Send us an email at dr dot williams at chiropracticforward.com and let us know what you think of our show and tell us your suggestions for future episodes. 

 

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We can’t wait to connect with you again next week. From the Chiropractic Forward Podcast flight deck, this is Dr. Jeff Williams saying upward, onward, and forward. 

 

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About the Author & Host

Dr. Jeff Williams - Fellow of the International Academy of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine - Chiropractor in Amarillo, TX, Chiropractic Advocate, Author, Entrepreneur, Educator, Businessman, Marketer, and Healthcare Blogger & Vlogger

Bibliography

Thomas J, C. B., Russ D, (2020). "Effect of Spinal Manipulative and Mobilization Therapies in Young Adults With Mild to Moderate Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial." JAMA Open 3(8).

 

 

CF 135: Adjusting Confirmed Disc Herniations and Bulges

Today we’re going to talk about Adjusting Confirmed Disc Herniations and Bulges. Is this a good idea or a bad idea and what does the research have to say about it?

 

But first, here’s that sweet sweet bumper music

OK, we are back and you have found the Chiropractic Forward Podcast where we are making evidence-based chiropractic fun, profitable, and accessible while we make you and your patients better all the way around. 

 

We’re the fun kind of research. Not the stuffy, high-brow kind of research. We’re research talk over a couple of beers.

 

I’m Dr. Jeff Williams and I’m your host for the Chiropractic Forward podcast.  

 

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• Like our Facebook page, 
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Do it do it do it. 

 

You have found yourself smack dab in the middle of Episode #135

 

Now if you missed last week’s episode , we talked about the impact sleep can have on cardiovascular issues and we talked about what the profession of chiropractic can learn from the podiatry profession. There was a great discussion there I believe and great lessons we can learn. Why did podiatrists start at about the same time as chirorpactic but they’re so much more recognized, respected, and integrated compared to the chirorpactic profession? We talked about it. Make sure you don’t miss that info. Keep up with the class. 

Just so you know, all of the research we talk about in each episode is cited in the show notes for each episode if you’re looking to dive in a little deeper. 

 

On the personal end of things…..

Keepin on keepin on folks. That’s it. Staying in business. One day at a time. So far so good. I hope you found some use out of our discussion a couple episodes back about tactics myself and others are using to get those patients returning back to your office. I think I was able to share some valuable info in that regard. 

Dr. Blake Bennett posted in our private Facebook group saying, “We mailed a thousand letters to patients who were in in the past couple years and a couple weeks later we mailed another 500 postcards to patients who haven’t been in longer than that. Email every 2-3 weeks to those on the list. He says the response was great and June was a good month.”

Providing value and giving back. Thank you Dr. Bennett. I know others in need appreciate your advice as do I. 

Let’s get on with the reason for the topic today. I saw a post not long ago in the Forward Thinking Chiropractic Alliance where a colleague was asking if it’s OK to adjust segments where there is a confirmed disc herniation or bulge. It was refreshing to see a resounding YES from all of my colleagues. 

My answer was “Yes” as well. I’ve been through this from the back end though and I’ll share some of that story with you. It’s a story I’m not happy about, I’m not proud of, and I’m not happy revisiting. It was a hard time in my life to be honest. But, it’s part of my story regardless so here goes.

Many moons ago I treated A LOT of personal injury cases. We all know some of those patients are better than others. This was not one of the great patients but she was fine. No big issues. She had a disc injury and I diagnosed it appropriately I’ll have you know. 

Now something to know about me; I’m all about gentle motion. I don’t like it when someone cranks my noggin around just looking for that crack sound. I’m not interested in that and I treat people the way I want to be treated. I’m very gentle, non-agressive, use little to zero rotation in the cervical area, and just won’t be rough with it. 

Same went for this lady. And, like so many other patients, she responded well. I tracked her from the beginning where she was having pain 75% of the time down to a much lower rating on the numeric rating scale and only about 25% of the time. She was happy, I was happy and all was gleeful in the land of daily practice. 

Until…..until her daughter attended an appointment with her one day. She came in with her just up in arms and actually screaming at me because I had the audacity to work on her mother when she had a disc herniation and clear mention of the disc herniation on her MRI report. 

I asked her if she’d ever been to a chiropractor before or knew anything about chiropractic. She had not. She knew nothing about what we do or why we do it. So, I tried to explain briefly and tell her how her mother was doing so much better and how she had improved, blah, blah, blah. Didn’t matter. She didn’t know anything but she knew enough to be straight up pissed the hell off that I’d ever work with her mother with that disc herniation. 

It made for an interesting day for sure. But not as interesting as the day I received notice from my state’s governing board that they had received a complaint on me from this patient. While it had this patient’s name on the complaint, it should have had the daughter’s name on it because the patient and I had a good relationship. 

So, no matter how good the notes were, no matter how well I tracked the improvement, guess what? I STILL had to hire an attorney to defend me to my own Board. Now, it’s important to understand that the Board isn’t here for us. They’re stated goal is to protect the interest of the public when it comes to chiropractors. Let’s be fair, they see the worst of the worst. Literally. They can, after some time, become a bit jaded and maybe even start to actually EXPECT the worst when they get a complaint. 

I literally could not believe I had to take two days off of work, fly to Austin, TX, get a hotel, and defend myself against something that was so black and white. But again, let’s be fair, the folks at the TBCE weren’t there. They didn’t witness what I saw. They didn’t see the happiness of the patient with her improvement. They weren’t there when we just did manual mobilization rather than agressive adjustments. I can’t blame them. It was the process and I had to go through it. Right or wrong. And trust me, if you’ve listened to this podcast long enough honesty is big with me. This was wrong. It should have never gotten beyond the initial complaint. But whatever. I went to Austin. 

Now, one of my colleagues and friends was on the enforcement committee and she asked me some straight forward questions with the attorney sitting there. I don’t know why the hell he was even there other than to collect a check because he didn’t say a damn thing or do a damn thing. 

This was before I went through a diplomate but after going through Croft’s Whiplash Biomechanics and Traumatology course. What I’m saying is I’m better today than I was back then but I was far from being a slacker back then. I answered all of the questions, walked out, and the attorney told me what a great job I did and then we waited. 

I ended up getting a warning but nothing on my record. No action taken against me. I was pissed then and am still pissed that I’d get a warning for anything at all. I didn’t deserve a warning. It wasn’t warranted because I didn’t do anything wrong. 

Now, the reason for that story for a couple of reasons. First, I want you to understand the value of documentation. Had I not had the documentation showing the improvement of this patient over her treatment, I would have been absolute toast based solely on the word of a patient’s daughter. A person that has never been to a chiropractor and knows nothing about the profession. That’s number one. So documentation people; don’t just document to remember what you did. Document to protect yourself and your staff. It sucks but you have to do it. 

The second reason I told that story is that this experience led me to start looking up research on discs and adjusting. Was I actually wrong and I just didn’t know it? I went searching for the answers because if I were to keep adjusting people, you damn well better believe that I’m going to be adjusting people with discs that many times are herniated or bulging. That’s either knowingly doing it and most times unknowingly doing it. 

Hell, we know that 60% of patients between the ages of 40 and 50 years old have disc findings that are completely asymptomatic. No pain at all. Still, when you’re adjusting a 40 - 50 year old, you have a 60% chance of adjusting someone with a bulge or herniation. So it made sense to me to protect myself from ever running into this crap again down the road. 

If I had those paper in front of me when I went in there to defend myself, maybe I don’t even get a warning. But, if someone is sitting on the enforcement and questioning concerning adjusting areas with disc issues, they need to be on top of that research as well. And they might have been. I don’t know. All of the folks at the TBCE have become well thought of friends and colleagues now that I’ve been active in the Texas Chiropractic Association for so many years. Not the case at the time though. I only knew one of them back then. Even though there’s been a turnover since this happened many moons ago, I’m still friends with even the new TBCE crew and they’re all highly respected and thought of by me. Good good people just trying to do a good job. 

Anyway, We’re going to go through some papers here for you so you can get a clear picture on this topic. 

 

 

 

 

 

Item #1

OK, Item #1 this week is called “Manipulation or microdiskectomy for sciatica? A prospective randomized clinical study” by McMorland, et. al. publshed in the Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapeutics in October of 2010(McMorland G 2010). 

 

Why They Did It

The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy of spinal manipulation against microdiskectomy in patients with sciatica secondary to lumbar disk herniation (LDH).

 

How They Did It

• 121 patients were in the study
• Patients had to have failed at least 3 months of nonoperative management like analgesics, lifestyle modification, physiotherapy, massage, or acupuncture. 
• They were randomized to either surgical microdiskectomy or standardized chiropractic spinal manipulation
• Patients could opt to crossover to the other treatment after 3 months

 

What They Found

Significant improvement in both treatment groups compared to baseline scores over time was observed in all outcome measures. After 1 year, follow-up intent-to-treat analysis did not reveal a difference in outcome based on the original treatment received

 

Wrap It Up

“Sixty percent of patients with sciatica who had failed other medical management benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention. Of 40% left unsatisfied, subsequent surgical intervention confers excellent outcome. Patients with symptomatic LDH failing medical management should consider spinal manipulation followed by surgery if warranted.”

 

Who does this not make perfect sense to? Well….besides my patient’s daughter that is? Oh, and just about any medical physician you can find. I just don’t know how they haven’t latched onto this research yet. Honestly. 

 

Before we get to the next paper, I want to tell you a little about this new tool on the market called Drop Release. If you’re into IASTM also known as instrument assisted soft tissue manipulation, then it’s your new best friend. Heck if you’re just into getting more range of motion in your patients, then it’s your new best friend. 

Drop Release is a revolutionary tool that harnesses the body’s built-in protective systems to make muscles relax quickly and effectively.  This greatly reduces time needed for soft tissue treatment, leaving more time for other treatments per visit, or more patients per day.

 

It’s inventor, Dr. Chris Howson, from the great state state of North Dakota has is a listener and friend. He offered our listeners a great discount on his product. When you order, if you put in the code ‘HOTSTUFF’ all one word….as in hot stuff….coming up!! If you enter HOTSTUFF in the coupon code area, Dr. Howson will give you $50 off of your purchase. 

 

Go check Drop Release at droprelease.com and tell Dr. Howson I sent you.

 

Item #2

This is a great one here called “Outcomes From Magnetic Resonance Imaging–Confirmed Symptomatic Cervical Disk Herniation Patients Treated With High-Velocity, Low-Amplitude Spinal Manipulative Therapy: A Prospective Cohort Study With 3-Month Follow-Up” by Peterson et. al. published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics in August of 2013(Peterson C 2013). 

 

Why They Did It

The purpose of this study was to investigate outcomes of patients with cervical radiculopathy from cervical disk herniation (CDH) who are treated with spinal manipulative therapy.

 

How They Did It

• 50 Adult Swiss patients with neck pain and dermatomal arm pain; sensory, motor, or reflex changes corresponding to the involved nerve root; and at least 1 positive orthopaedic test for cervical radiculopathy were included.
• Magnetic resonance imaging–confirmed CDH linked with symptoms was required.
• Baseline data included 2 pain numeric rating scales (NRSs), for neck and arm, and the Neck Disability Index (NDI). At 2 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months after initial consultation, patients were contacted by telephone, and the NDI, NRSs, and patient's global impression of change data were collected
• High-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulations were administered by experienced doctors of chiropractic.
• Acute vs subacute/chronic patients' NRSs and NDIs were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test.

 

 

What They Found

• At 2 weeks, 55.3% were “improved,” 68.9% at 1 month and 85.7% at 3 months.
• Statistically significant decreases in neck pain, arm pain, and NDI scores were noted at 1 and 3 months compared with baseline scores
• Of the subacute/chronic patients, 76.2% were improved at 3 months.

 

Wrap It Up

Most patients in this study, including subacute/chronic patients, with symptomatic magnetic resonance imaging–confirmed CDH treated with spinal manipulative therapy, reported significant improvement with no adverse events.

 

 

Item #3

This one is from Bergmann, et. al. and published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics in 1998 called “Manipulative therapy in lower back pain with leg pain and neurological deficit.(Bergmann TF 1998)”

 

Why They Did It

To discuss a case of sciatica associated with lower back pain that originates in a disc. We discuss the use of manipulative therapy as a conservative approach and compare it with other conservative methods and with surgery.

 

How They Did It

• The patient suffered from lower back and left leg pain that had increased in severity over a 6-day period. There was decreased sensation in the dorsum of the left foot and toes. Computed tomography demonstrated the presence of a small, contained disc herniation.
• The patient was initially treated with ice followed by flexion-distraction therapy. This was used over the course of her first three visits. Once she was in less pain, side posture manipulation was added to her care. Nine treatments were required before she was released from care.

 

Wrap It Up

“We need a nonsurgical, conservative approach to treat lower back pain with sciatica as an alternative to and before beginning the more aggressive, and potentially hazardous, surgical treatment. There is some support for the idea that lumbar disc herniation with neurological deficit and radicular pain does not contraindicate the judicious use of manipulation. there is ample evidence to suggest that a course of conservative care, including spinal manipulation, should be completed before surgical consult is considered.”

 

Item #4

The last one we’ll cover here is called “Spinal manipulation in the treatment of patients with MRI-confirmed lumbar disc herniation and sacroiliac joint hypomobility: a quasi-experimental study” by Shokri et. al and published in Chiropractic and Manual Therapies in May of 2018(Shokri E 2018).

 

Why They Did It

To investigate the effect of lumbar and sacroiliac joint (SIJ) manipulation on pain and functional disability in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) concomitant with SIJ hypomobility.

 

How They Did It

• Twenty patients aged between 20 and 50 years with MRI-confirmed LDH who also had SIJ hypomobility participated in the trial in 2010.
• Patients who had sequestrated disc herniation were excluded
• All patients received five sessions of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) for the SIJ and lumbar spine during a 2-week period. 
• back and leg pain intensity and functional disability level were measured with a numerical rating scale (NRS) and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) at baseline, immediately after the 5th session, and 1 month after baseline.

 

What They Found

A significantly greater mean improvement in back and leg pain was observed in the 5th sessions and 1 month after SMT

 

Wrap It Up

Five sessions of lumbar and SIJ manipulation can potentially improve pain and functional disability in patients with MRI-confirmed LDH and concomitant SIJ hypomobility.

 

There are more but I don’t want this episode to be an hour long. If I have a patient with a hot disc, I don’t typically adjust on day one. We focus on getting the patient moving. We sit them on a theraball and have them move their hips in circles, front to back, side to side, figure eights, and whatever other way we can think of. Most have a direction of preference that is in trunk extenstion. If this is right for the patient, we will do extension bias exercises. 

 

We make sure they are keeping their low back nice and stiff, neutral, and strong in every movement they make. We make sure they know what position to sleep in. We stress the importance of not laying down and hoping it goes away. Rather than that, they really need to be walking and doing the exercises. If they have people that just underwent surgery walking the next day, then doesn’t that same concept make sense for discs? Well of course it does. They typically come back the next day with the pain reduced enough to be able to do some light mobilization on the low back. I am careful to not be agressive and to not put an extreme amount of rotation into the spine. We want movement but we also want the spine as straight, strong, and neurtal as possible. 

 

Make sure you have schooled them on this concept. Tell them to make sure they behave like they have a long flourescent light bulb taped to their back and their job is to not break it. If you can remove the triggers that caused the pain, it’ll go a long way toward their recovery. 

 

Alright, that’s it. Y’all be safe. Keep changing the world and our profession from your little corner of the world. Continue taking care of yourselves and taking care of your neighbors. Tough times are upon us but, the sun will shine again. Trust it, believe it, count on it.

 

Let’s get to the message. Same as it is every week. 

 

 

Store

Remember the evidence-informed brochures and posters at chiropracticforward.com. 

 

The Message

I want you to know with absolute certainty that when Chiropractic is at its best, you can’t beat the risk vs reward ratio because spinal pain is primarily a movement-related pain and typically responds better to movement-related treatment rather than chemical treatments like pills and shots.

 

When compared to the traditional medical model, research and clinical experience show us patients can get good to excellent results for headaches, neck pain, back pain, and joint pain to name just a few.

 

It’s safe and cost-effective can decrease surgeries & disability and we do it through conservative, non-surgical means with minimal hassle to the patient. 

 

And, if the patient treats preventativly after initial recovery, we can usually keep it that way while raising the overall level of health!

 

Key Point:

At the end of the day, patients should have the guarantee of having the best treatment that offers the least harm. When it comes to non-complicated musculoskeletal complaints….

 

That’s Chiropractic!

 

Contact

Send us an email at dr dot williams at chiropracticforward.com and let us know what you think of our show and tell us your suggestions for future episodes. 

 

Feedback and constructive criticism is a blessing and so are subscribes and excellent reviews on podcast platforms. 

 

We know how this works by now. If you value something, you have to share it, interact with it, review it, talk about it from time to time, and actively hit a few buttons to support it here and there when asked. It really does make a big difference. 

 

Connect

We can’t wait to connect with you again next week. From the Chiropractic Forward Podcast flight deck, this is Dr. Jeff Williams saying upward, onward, and forward. 

 

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About the Author & Host

Dr. Jeff Williams - Chiropractor in Amarillo, TX, Chiropractic Advocate, Author, Entrepreneur, Educator, Businessman, Marketer, and Healthcare Blogger & VloggerBibliography

• Bergmann TF, J. B. (1998). "Manipulative therapy in lower back pain with leg pain and neurological deficit." J Manipulative Physiol Ther 21(4): 288-294.
• McMorland G (2010). "Manipulation or microdiskectomy for sciatica? A prospective randomized clinical study." J Manipulative Physiol Ther 33(8): 576-584.
• Peterson C, e. a. (2013). "Outcomes from magnetic resonance imaging — confirmed symptomatic cervical disk protrusion patients treated with high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulative therapy: a prospective cohort study with 3-month follow-up." J Manipulative Physiol Ther 36(8): 461-467.
• Shokri E, K. F., Sinaei E, Ghafarinejad F, (2018). "Spinal manipulation in the treatment of patients with MRI-confirmed lumbar disc herniation and sacroiliac joint hypomobility: a quasi-experimental study." Chiropr Man Therap 26(16).