A Comparison of Chiropractic Manipulation Methods and Standard Medical Care for Low Back Pain
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Low Back Pain
- Sponsor
- University of Pittsburgh
- Enrollment
- 107
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Index
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 9 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The investigators will be comparing the effectiveness of two types of chiropractic manipulation and standard medical care for patients with a recent onset of low back pain. The two types of chiropractic treatments being compared will be hands-on (manual) manipulation and mechanical-assisted (Activator) manipulation. The standard medical care will consist of a medical examination and prescription for over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication.
Investigators
Michael Schneider, DC, PhD
DC, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Age: ≥ 18 years of age
- •Ability to read and write English
- •Experiencing a new episode of low back pain (LBP) with onset in the past 3 months
- •Oswestry Disability Index score between 20-70 points (0-100 scale)
- •Numeric pain rating score between 3-8 points (0-10 scale)
Exclusion Criteria
- •Prior history of lumbar spine surgery
- •History of unstable spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis, or scoliosis \> 20°
- •Signs or symptoms suggestive of nerve root tension and/or neurological deficit in the lower extremity
- •History of metastatic cancer, osteoporosis, long-term corticosteroid use, or any other red flags of serious illness including the following: unexplained weight loss of \>10% of body weight, spinal pain associated with fever, and severe night pain unrelieved by medication
- •Receiving any physical therapy, chiropractic therapy, or any other manual therapy for this episode of LBP (within the past 3 months)
- •Receiving any on-going medical care for this episode of low back pain
- •Current use of opiate or other prescription medications for low back pain
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Index
Time Frame: 4 weeks (post treatment)
The Oswestry (OSW) Questionnaire provides the level of self-reported impairment of activity of daily living (ADLs) due to low back pain. There are 10 items in the OSW, each rated on a Likert scale from 0-5. The total range of possible scores is from 0 -50, which is converted to a percentage ranging from 0-100. The percentage of self-reported disability ranges from 0='no impairment' to 100='complete impairment'. Our statistical analysis looked at the change in OSW score (in percentage points) from baseline to 4 weeks (post treatment).
Secondary Outcomes
- Numeric Pain Rating Score.(4 weeks (post treatment))