Articles

The boot camp program for lumbar spinal stenosis: a protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) causing neurogenic claudication is a leading cause of pain, disability and loss of independence in older adults. The prevalence of lumbar spinal stenosis is growing rapidly due to ...

Authors: Carlo Ammendolia, Pierre Côté, Y. Raja Rampersaud, Danielle Southerst, Brian Budgell, Claire Bombardier and Gillian Hawker

Erratum to: Spinal manipulative therapy, Graston technique® and placebo for non-specific thoracic spine pain: a randomised controlled trial

Authors: Amy L. Crothers, Simon D. French, Jeff J. Hebert and Bruce F. Walker

Perception of peer physical examination in two Australian osteopathy programs

Peer physical examination (PPE) is an efficient and practical educational approach whereby students can practise their examination skills on each other before commencing clinical practice with actual patients....

Authors: Brett Vaughan and Sandra Grace

The immediate effect of multiple mechanical impulses on electromyography and pressure pain threshold of lumbar latent trigger points: an experimental study

Myofascial pain is a common syndrome, which has not been studied extensively in the low back. Despite a variety of manual and instrument assisted interventions available, little work has targeted the possible ...

Authors: Bert Ameloot and Jeff Bagust

The new chiropractic

Physical manipulation and manual therapies are thousands of years old. The most popular western world iteration of these therapies is delivered by chiropractors. It can be argued that the collective public hea...

Authors: Bruce F. Walker

Quality of reporting of randomised controlled trials in chiropractic using the CONSORT checklist

Reviews indicate that the quality of reporting of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in the medical literature is less than optimal, poor to moderate, and require improving. However, the reporting quality of ...

Authors: Fay Karpouzis, Rod Bonello, Mario Pribicevic, Allan Kalamir and Benjamin T. Brown

Dose–response of spinal manipulation for cervicogenic headache: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Cervicogenic headache is a prevalent and costly pain condition commonly treated by chiropractors. There is evidence to support the effectiveness for spinal manipulation, but the dose of treatment required to a...

Authors: Linda Hanson, Mitchell Haas, Gert Bronfort, Darcy Vavrek, Craig Schulz, Brent Leininger, Roni Evans, Leslie Takaki and Moni Neradilek

Perceptions of the quality of the therapeutic alliance in chiropractic care in The Netherlands: a cross-sectional survey

Research in various medical fields demonstrates a consistent and positive association between clinical outcomes and the quality of the therapeutic alliance between the patient and clinician. The aim of this st...

Authors: Nicoline M. Lambers and Jennifer E. Bolton

Match injuries in amateur Rugby Union: a prospective cohort study - FICS Biennial Symposium Second Prize Research Award

The majority of Rugby Union (rugby) players participate at the amateur level. Knowledge of player characteristics and injury risks is predominantly ascertained from studies on professional or junior athletes i...

Authors: Michael S. Swain, Reidar P. Lystad, Nicholas Henschke, Christopher G. Maher and Steven J. Kamper

Spinal manipulative therapy, Graston technique® and placebo for non-specific thoracic spine pain: a randomised controlled trial

Few controlled trials have assessed the efficacy of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) for thoracic spine pain. No high quality trials have been performed to test the efficacy and effectiveness of Graston Techn...

Authors: Amy L. Crothers, Simon D. French, Jeff J. Hebert and Bruce F. Walker

Assessing patient-centered care in patients with chronic health conditions attending chiropractic practice: protocol for a mixed-methods study

The management of chronic health conditions increasingly requires an organized, coordinated, and patient-centered approach to care. The Chronic Care Model (CCM) has been adopted in primary care to improve care...

Authors: Kent Jason Stuber, Mark Langweiler, Silvano Mior and Peter William McCarthy

Bladder metastasis presenting as neck, arm and thorax pain: a case report

A case of metastatic carcinoma secondary to urothelial carcinoma presenting as musculoskeletal pain is reported. A brief review of urothelial and metastatic carcinoma including clinical presentation, diagnosti...

Authors: Clinton J. Daniels, Pamela J. Wakefield and Glenn A. Bub

Spinal myxopapillary ependymoma in an adult male presenting with recurrent acute low back pain: a case report

Spinal intramedullary ependymomas are very rare and occur more commonly in the cervical and upper thoracic regions. These neoplasms tend to manifest in young adulthood, and patients typically present with mild...

Authors: Dean Petersen and Reidar P. Lystad

Nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenoma: a case report from the patient perspective

Nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenoma (NFPA) is a tumour of the endocrine system that is virtually always benign and can be difficult to detect. This case report is presented from the patient’s perspective to ...

Authors: Craig A. Bauman, James D. Milligan, Tammy Labreche and John J. Riva

Reliability and measurement error of frontal and horizontal 3D spinal motion parameters in 219 patients with chronic low back pain

In order for measurements to be clinically useful, data on psychometric conditions such as reliability should be available in the population for which the measurements are intended to be used. This study compr...

Authors: Steen Harsted, Rune M. Mieritz, Gert Bronfort and Jan Hartvigsen

Importance of psychological factors for the recovery from a first episode of acute non-specific neck pain - a longitudinal observational study

The influence of psychological factors on acute neck pain is sparsely studied. In a secondary analysis of prospectively collected data, this study investigated how several psychological factors develop in the ...

Authors: Brigitte Wirth, B. Kim Humphreys and Cynthia Peterson

Understanding clinical reasoning in osteopathy: a qualitative research approach

Clinical reasoning has been described as a process that draws heavily on the knowledge, skills and attributes that are particular to each health profession. However, the clinical reasoning processes of practit...

Authors: Sandra Grace, Paul Orrock, Brett Vaughan, Raymond Blaich and Rosanne Coutts

Multimodal care for the management of musculoskeletal disorders of the elbow, forearm, wrist and hand: a systematic review by the Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury Management (OPTIMa) Collaboration

Musculoskeletal disorders of the elbow, forearm, wrist and hand are associated with pain, functional impairment and decreased productivity in the general population. Combining several interventions in a multim...

Authors: Deborah Sutton, Douglas P. Gross, Pierre Côté, Kristi Randhawa, Hainan Yu, Jessica J. Wong, Paula Stern, Sharanya Varatharajan, Danielle Southerst, Heather M. Shearer, Maja Stupar, Rachel Goldgrub, Gabrielle van der Velde, Margareta Nordin, Linda J. Carroll and Anne Taylor-Vaisey

Acknowledgement of manuscript reviewers 2015

The editor of Chiropractic & Manual Therapies would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 23 (2015).

Authors: Bruce F. Walker

Chiropractors’ perception of occupational stress and its influencing factors: a qualitative study using responses to open-ended questions

Job stress and emotional exhaustion have been shown to have a negative impact on the helping professional. The development and causal relations of job stress and emotional exhaustion are rather unclear in the ...

Authors: Shawn Williams

Absence of low back pain to demarcate an episode: a prospective multicentre study in primary care

It has been proposed that an episode of low back pain (LBP) be defined as: “a period of pain in the lower back lasting for more than 24 h preceded and followed by a period of at least 1 month without LBP”. Pre...

Authors: Andreas Eklund, Irene Jensen, Malin Lohela-Karlsson, Charlotte Leboeuf-Yde and Iben Axén

Sick leave and healthcare utilisation in women reporting pregnancy related low back pain and/or pelvic girdle pain at 14 months postpartum

Pregnancy related low back pain (PLBP) and pelvic girdle pain (PGP) are considered common complications of pregnancy. The long-term consequences for women with persistent PLBP/PGP postpartum are under-investig...

Authors: Cecilia Bergström, Margareta Persson and Ingrid Mogren

Conservative care with or without manipulative therapy in the management of back and neck pain in Danish children aged 9–15. Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Complaints in the musculoskeletal system often start early in life and back and neck pain in children are well-established predictors for similar problems in adulthood. Despite lack of evidence of effectivenes...

Authors: Kristina Boe Dissing, Jan Hartvigsen, Niels Wedderkopp and Lise Hestbæk

An anatomical study of arcuate foramen and its clinical implications: a case report

The objective of this paper is to describe the relationship of the vertebral artery (VA) to the Atlas (C1) in the sub-occipital region in the presence of arcuate foramen; and discuss the clinical implications ...

Authors: Salman Afsharpour, Kathryn T. Hoiriis, R. Bruce Fox and Samuel Demons

Similarities and differences of graduate entry-level competencies of chiropractic councils on education: a systematic review

Councils of Chiropractic Education (CCE) indirectly influence patient care and safety through their role of ensuring the standards of training delivered by chiropractic educational institutions. This is achiev...

Authors: Stanley I. Innes, Charlotte Leboeuf-Yde and Bruce F. Walker

Does an online psychological intervention improve self-efficacy and disability in people also receiving Multimodal Manual Therapy for chronic low back pain compared to Multimodal Manual Therapy alone? Design of a randomized controlled trial

Various interventions are available for the treatment of chronic low back pain (LBP), including Manual Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether the addi...

Authors: M. John Petrozzi, Andrew Leaver, Mairwen K. Jones, Paulo H. Ferreira, Sidney M. Rubinstein and Martin G. Mackey

Acute thoracolumbar pain due to cholecystitis: a case study

This article describes and discusses the case of an adult female with cholecystitis characterized on initial presentation as acute thoracolumbar pain.

Authors: Chris T. Carter

Does cervical lordosis change after spinal manipulation for non-specific neck pain? A prospective cohort study

The association between cervical lordosis (sagittal alignment) and neck pain is controversial. Further, it is unclear whether spinal manipulative therapy can change cervical lordosis. This study aimed to deter...

Authors: Michael Shilton, Jonathan Branney, Bas Penning de Vries and Alan C. Breen

Wearing American Football helmets increases cervicocephalic kinaesthetic awareness in “elite” American Football players but not controls

While there have been investigations into the reduced neck injury rate of wearing protective helmets, there is little information on its effects on normal kinaesthetic neck function. This study aims to quantif...

Authors: Peter W. McCarthy, Phillip J. Hume, Andrew I. Heusch and Sally D. Lark

The accuracy of diagnostic ultrasound imaging for musculoskeletal soft tissue pathology of the extremities: a comprehensive review of the literature

Musculoskeletal diagnostic ultrasound imaging (MSK-DUSI) has been growing outside the traditional radiology speciality. Increased use of this technology has been reported in several healthcare settings, howeve...

Authors: Rogan E A Henderson, Bruce F. Walker and Kenneth J. Young

The effectiveness of manual therapy for the management of musculoskeletal disorders of the upper and lower extremities: a systematic review by the Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury Management (OPTIMa) Collaboration

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) of the upper and lower extremities are common in the general population and place a significant burden on the health care system. Manual therapy is recommended by clinical prac...

Authors: Danielle Southerst, Hainan Yu, Kristi Randhawa, Pierre Côté, Kevin D’Angelo, Heather M. Shearer, Jessica J. Wong, Deborah Sutton, Sharanya Varatharajan, Rachel Goldgrub, Sarah Dion, Jocelyn Cox, Roger Menta, Courtney K. Brown, Paula J. Stern, Maja Stupar…

Annual acknowledgement of manuscript reviewers

The editors of Chiropractic & Manual Therapies would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 22 (2014).

Authors: Bruce Walker

Attainment rate as a surrogate indicator of the intervertebral neutral zone length in lateral bending: an in vitro proof of concept study

Lumbar segmental instability is often considered to be a cause of chronic low back pain. However, defining its measurement has been largely limited to laboratory studies. These have characterised segmental sta...

Authors: Alexander C Breen, Mihai Dupac and Neil Osborne

The chiropractic profession in Denmark 2010–2014: a descriptive report

The chiropractic profession has been well established in Denmark for several decades with state authorization, partial reimbursement by the state and a formal academic education. Biennial systematic data colle...

Authors: Orla Lund Nielsen, Alice Kongsted and Henrik Wulff Christensen

Do MRI findings identify patients with chronic low back pain and Modic changes who respond best to rest or exercise: a subgroup analysis of a randomised controlled trial

No previous clinical trials have investigated MRI findings as effect modifiers for conservative treatment of low back pain. This hypothesis-setting study investigated if MRI findings modified response to rest ...

Authors: Rikke K. Jensen, Peter Kent and Mark Hancock

The effect of spinal manipulation on deep experimental muscle pain in healthy volunteers

High-velocity low-amplitude (HVLA) spinal manipulation is commonly used in the treatment of spinal pain syndromes. The mechanisms by which HVLA-manipulation might reduce spinal pain are not well understood, bu...

Authors: Søren O’Neill, Øystein Ødegaard-Olsen and Beate Søvde

A biopsychosocial approach to primary hypothyroidism: treatment and harms data from a randomized controlled trial

Hypothyroidism is a common endocrine condition. There is evidence to suggest that, for a proportion of sufferers, the standard medical treatment does not completely reverse the constitutional and neuropsychiat...

Authors: Benjamin T. Brown, Petra L. Graham, Rod Bonello and Henry Pollard

The simulated early learning of cervical spine manipulation technique utilising mannequins

Trivial pain or minor soreness commonly follows neck manipulation and has been estimated at one in three treatments. In addition, rare catastrophic events can occur. Some of these incidents have been ascribed ...

Authors: Peter D Chapman, Norman J Stomski, Barrett Losco and Bruce F Walker

Is back pain during childhood or adolescence associated with muscle strength, muscle endurance or aerobic capacity: three systematic literature reviews with one meta-analysis

Back pain is a common condition during childhood and adolescence. The causes of back pain are largely unknown but it seems plausible that some physical factors such as back muscle strength, back muscle enduran...

Authors: Arnaud Lardon, Charlotte Leboeuf-Yde and Christine Le Scanff

Attitudes toward drug prescription rights: a survey of Ontario chiropractors

Several published surveys have shown that chiropractors are generally split in their opinions regarding the right to prescribe drugs in chiropractic practice. Many of these studies have been limited by low res...

Authors: Peter Charles Emary and Kent Jason Stuber

Could the clinical interpretability of subgroups detected using clustering methods be improved by using a novel two-stage approach?

Recognition of homogeneous subgroups of patients can usefully improve prediction of their outcomes and the targeting of treatment. There are a number of research approaches that have been used to recognise hom...

Authors: Peter Kent, Mette Jensen Stochkendahl, Henrik Wulff Christensen and Alice Kongsted

Chiropractic care and the risk of vertebrobasilar stroke: results of a case–control study in U.S. commercial and Medicare Advantage populations

There is controversy surrounding the risk of manipulation, which is often used by chiropractors, with respect to its association with vertebrobasilar artery system (VBA) stroke. The objective of this study was...

Authors: Thomas M Kosloff, David Elton, Jiang Tao and Wade M Bannister

Change in lumbar lordosis during prone lying knee flexion test in subjects with and without low back pain

Prone lying knee flexion (PLKF) is one of the clinical tests used for assessment of the lumbo-pelvic movement pattern. Considerable increase in lumbar lordosis during this test has been considered as impairmen...

Authors: Amir M Arab, Ailin Talimkhani, Noureddin Karimi and Fetemeh Ehsani

Attitudes and beliefs of Australian chiropractors’ about managing back pain: a cross-sectional study

Chiropractors are frequent providers of care for patients with lower back pain. Biopsychosocial approaches to managing patients are regarded as best practice and are gaining wider acceptance. Recent evidence s...

Authors: Stanley I Innes, Peter D Werth, Peter J Tuchin and Petra L Graham

US chiropractors’ attitudes, skills and use of evidence-based practice: A cross-sectional national survey

Evidence based practice (EBP) is being increasingly utilized by health care professionals as a means of improving the quality of health care. The introduction of EBP principles into the chiropractic profession...

Authors: Michael J Schneider, Roni Evans, Mitchell Haas, Matthew Leach, Cheryl Hawk, Cynthia Long, Gregory D Cramer, Oakland Walters, Corrie Vihstadt and Lauren Terhorst

Reliability of diagnostic ultrasound in measuring the multifidus muscle

Ultrasound is frequently used to measure activity in the lumbar multifidus muscle (LMM). However previous reliability studies on diagnostic ultrasound and LMM have included a limited number of subjects and few...

Authors: Eirik Johan Skeie, Jan Arve Borge, Charlotte Leboeuf-Yde, Jenni Bolton and Niels Wedderkopp

A literature review of clinical tests for lumbar instability in low back pain: validity and applicability in clinical practice

Several clinical tests have been proposed on low back pain (LBP), but their usefulness in detecting lumbar instability is not yet clear. The objective of this literature review was to investigate the clinical ...

Authors: Silvano Ferrari, Tiziana Manni, Francesca Bonetti, Jorge Hugo Villafañe and Carla Vanti

Helping address the national research and research capacity needs of Australian chiropractic: introducing the Australian Chiropractic Research Network (ACORN) project

Chiropractic is a popular health care choice in Australia and yet major gaps in our empirical understanding of this area of practice remain. Furthermore, while some research excellence exists, a largely uncoor...

Authors: Jon Adams, Amie Steel, Sungwon Chang and David Sibbritt

Clinical examination findings as prognostic factors in low back pain: a systematic review of the literature

There is a strong tradition of performing a clinical examination of low back pain (LBP) patients and this is generally recommended in guidelines. However, establishing a pathoanatomic diagnosis does not seem p...

Authors: Lisbeth Hartvigsen, Alice Kongsted and Lise Hestbaek

How can we assess the burden of muscle, bone and joint conditions in rural Botswana: context and methods for the MuBoJo focused ethnography

Musculoskeletal diseases are the most common causes of long-term pain and disability worldwide and a growing international public health concern. However, the everyday burden and impact of musculoskeletal cond...

Authors: Maria Hondras, Corrie Myburgh, Jan Hartvigsen, Scott Haldeman and Helle Johannessen