The WHO’s Sources For Opinion On Spinal Manipulative Therapy (Part 9)

The Chiropractic Forward Podcast: Evidence-based Chiropractic Advocacy

CF 321: The WHO’s Sources For Opinion On Spinal Manipulative Therapy (Part 9)

Today we’re going to talk about The WHO’s Sources For Opinion On Spinal Manipulative Therapy (Part 9) But first, here’s that sweet sweet bumper music

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OK, we are back and you have found the Chiro ractic Forward Podcast where we are giving evidence-based chiropractic a little personality and making it profitable. We’re not the stuffy, elitist, pretentious kind of research. We’re research talk over a couple of beers. So grab you a bushel. I’m Dr. Jeff Williams and I’m your host for the Chiropractic Forward podcast. I’m so glad you’re spending your time with us learning together. Chiropractors – I’m hiring at my personal clinic. I need talent, ambition, smarts, personality, and easy to get along with associates. If this is you and Amarillo, TX is your speed, send me an email at [e-mail] If you haven’t yet I have a few things you should do.

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You have found yourself smack dab in the middle of Episode #321 Now if you missed last week’s episode, we talked about PT For Sciatica & Laser For Neck Pain. Make sure you don’t miss that info. Keep up with the class.

On the personal end of things….. I just got back from VO Atlanta, the world’s largest VoiceOver conference. I have to say that there are a lot of regular Joe’s like me walking about that place and in the industry but, oh my goodness….there are a lot of strange folks too as you might imagine. A very diverse group and I’m not talking just about race. Just lots of different types of folks that the mainstream of our country wouldn’t recognize as being normal. I’ll just say it that way. So, that was fun and useful and tiring. I’m glad I went but was glad to be back home. It’s a lot like going to chiropractic conferences.

Before I got involved in the Texas Chiropractic Association, I was a long\e wolf. I’d be out there on the fringe, not a member of the TCA, and almost proudly and defiantly uninvolved. Compare and contrast that with me now. I’m a member of just about everything I can be a member of. Including the ACA, the TCA, FTCA, the MCM Mastermind, the Texas Orthopedic group, the national Orthopedic group, the national Forensics group and on and on and on. My network then vs. now. I had a couple of folks I went to school with. Now, I have hundreds of trusted friends in the industry to learn from, ask questions, and bounce things off of. There’s no comparison. The voice over thing reminds me of the fact that it’s not always the learning you get inside those classrooms that is the most valuable aspect of an industry conference.

Most of the time, it’s the one-on-one connections you make over dinner or over drinks and conversations you have with random folks throughout the weekend that pay the most dividends. Don’t get into conversations asking yourself, “what can I get from this person’ though. If you’re genuine and authentic and interested in others and what YOU can do for THEM, then it’s a natural instinct that they wonder what they can do for you in return. That’s where the value of conferences comes in. It’s the network you build over years of going to these things that pay dividends. So, if you don’t see immediate ROI on the Monday you return, not to worry. Stick with it. Plant the seeds and reap the harvest down the road.

Now remember we are continuing our series on why the WHO has designated spinal manipulative therapy at the level of very low confidence which is the same they designated ultrasound. I went and found all of the citations for all of the papers they used to make the determination. From what we’ve covered and from what I’m seeing, they haven’t used a lot of high-quality research to make the determination. This makes me wonder if there’s an agenda at the WHO to keep the man down. Keep the chiros in their place. Who knows? But it seems sus, as the kids say these days.

Item #1 Our first paper this week is called, “Spinal manipulative therapy and exercise for older adults with Chronic Low Back Pain: a randomized clinical trial” by Schulz et. Al and published in Chiropractic Manual Therapy on May 15, 2019. Remember, the citations can be found at chiropracticforward.com under this episode. Schulz C, Evans R, Maiers M, Schulz K, Leininger B, Bronfort G. Spinal manipulative therapy and exercise for older adults with chronic low back pain: a randomized clinical trial. Chiropr Man Therap. 2019 May 15;27:21. doi: 10.1186/s12998-019-0243-1. PMID: 31114673; PMCID: PMC6518769.

Why They Did It Low back pain (LBP) is a common disabling condition in older adults which often limits physical function and diminishes quality of life. Two clinical trials in older adults have shown spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) results in similar or small improvements relative to medical care; however, the effectiveness of adding SMT or rehabilitative exercise to home exercise is unclear.

How They Did It We conducted a randomized clinical trial assessing the comparative effectiveness of adding SMT or supervised rehabilitative exercise to home exercise in adults 65 or older with sub-acute or chronic LBP. Treatments were provided over 12-weeks and self-report outcomes were collected at 4, 12, 26, and 52 weeks. The primary outcome was pain severity. Secondary outcomes included back disability, health status, medication use, satisfaction with care, and global improvement. Linear mixed models were used to analyze outcomes. The primary analysis included longitudinal outcomes in the short (week 4-12) and long-term (week 4-52). An omnibus test assessing differences across all groups over the year was used to control for multiplicity. Secondary analyses included outcomes at each time point and responder analyses. This study was funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration.

What They Found 241 participants were randomized and 230 (95%) provided complete primary outcome data. The primary analysis showed group differences in pain over the one-year were small and not statistically significant. Pain severity was reduced by 30 to 40% after treatment in all 3 groups with the largest difference (eight percentage points) favoring SMT and home exercise over home exercise alone. Group differences at other time points ranged from 0 to 6 percentage points with no consistent pattern favoring one treatment. One-year post-treatment pain reductions diminished in all three groups. Secondary self-report outcomes followed a similar pattern with no important group differences, except satisfaction with care, where the two combination groups were consistently superior to home exercise alone.

Wrap It Up Adding spinal manipulation or supervised rehabilitative exercise to home exercise alone does not appear to improve pain or disability in the short- or long-term for older adults with chronic low back pain, but did enhance satisfaction with care.

Item #2 The second paper today is called, “Manipulation does not add to the effect of extension exercises in chronic low-back pain (LBP). A randomized, controlled, double blind study” by Rasmussen et al published in Joint Bone and Spine in December of 2008. Rasmussen J, Laetgaard J, Lindecrona AL, Qvistgaard E, Bliddal H. Manipulation does not add to the effect of extension exercises in chronic low-back pain (LBP). A randomized, controlled, double blind study. Joint Bone Spine. 2008 Dec;75(6):708-13. doi: 10.1016/j.jbspin.2007.12.011. Epub 2008 Nov 22. PMID: 19028434.

Why They Did It Both exercises and manipulation are recommended as basic therapy in back diseases, while a possible synergistic effect of these treatments have not been clarified. This study was conducted to test a possible further effect of manipulation as adjunct to extension exercises for unspecific LBP.

How They Did It 72 patients with chronic LBP (mean 12 months) were examined by a specialist in manual medicine, who detected localized binding between the lumbar segments. All patients were instructed in extension exercises, while randomized to either pretreatment with specific manipulation or control. The patients were blinded to the manipulation, which was performed at the end of the manual examination, and repeated after two and four weeks. The manipulator only knew the group of the particular patient just before manipulation by the end of the examination. The primary end point was pain, measured by a visual analogue scale.

What They Found Pain in both back and leg decreased without differences between groups. Segmental binding of the low-back was associated with persisting clinical symptoms at four weeks.

Wrap It Up No additional effect was demonstrated of manipulation, when extension exercises were used as basic therapy. Alright, that’s it. Keep on keepin’ on. Keep changing our profession from your corner of the world. The world needs evidence-based, patient-centered practitioners driving the bus. The profession needs us in the ACA and involved in leadership of state associations. So quit griping about the profession if you’re doing nothing to make it better. Get active, get involved, and make it happen. Let’s get to the message. Same as it is every week.

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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 preventatively 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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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 (FIANM) and Board Certified Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Professionals (DABFP) – Chiropractor in Amarillo, TX, Chiropractic Advocate, Author, Entrepreneur, Educator, Businessman, Marketer, and Healthcare Blogger & Vlogger

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