Spinal Manipulation

The biomechanics of spinal manipulation.

Biomechanics is the science that deals with the external and internal forces acting on biological systems and the effects produced by these forces. Here, we describe the forces exerted by chiropractors on patients during high-speed, low-amplitude manipulations of the spine and the physiological responses produced by the treatments. The external forces were found to vary greatly among clinicians...

Visceral responses to spinal manipulation.

While spinal manipulation is widely seen as a reasonable treatment option for biomechanical disorders of the spine, such as neck pain and low back pain, the use of spinal manipulation to treat non-musculoskeletal complaints remains controversial. This controversy is due in part to the perception that there is no robust neurobiological rationale to justify using a biomechanical treatment of the ...

Intracranial hypotension following chiropractic spinal manipulation.

We report a case of intracranial hypotension caused by chiropractic manipulation which, in contrast to previously reported cases, documents the location of the cerebrospinal fluid leak by radionuclide cisternography. Cervical spinal manipulation produced a remote lumbar dural tear in our patient. Spinal magnetic resonance imaging may falsely localize the dural tear in this condition. Although c...

Life-threatening complications of spinal manipulation.

Spinal manipulation entails high-velocity, lowamplitude manual thrusts to spinal joints that extend slightly beyond their physiological range of motion. It is a therapeutic technique often, but not exclusively, used by chiropractors who tend to believe that it is not associated with relevant risks. This opinion is contrasted by the findings of systematic reviews,1 which summarize several hundre...

Chiropractic spinal manipulation for back pain.