This study concluded that young people in the 10-24 age group respond clinically to chiropractic spinal manipulation, soft tissue therapy, acupuncture and other modalities that are common in chiropractic practices. ~ Dr. Broussard
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
Volume 35, May 2019, Pages 301-307
Change in young people’s spine pain following chiropractic care at a publicly funded healthcare facility in Canada
Christian Manansala
Abstract
Background
The presence of spinal pain in young people has been established as a risk factor for spinal pain later in life. Recent clinical practice guidelines recommend spinal manipulation (SM), soft tissue therapy, acupuncture, and other modalities that are common treatments provided by chiropractors, as interventions for spine pain. Less is known specifically on the response to chiropractic management in young people with spinal pain. The purpose of this manuscript was to describe the impact, through pain measures, of a pragmatic course of chiropractic management in young people’s spinal pain at a publicly funded healthcare facility for a low-income population.
Methods
The study utilized a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected quality assurance data attained from the Mount Carmel Clinic (MCC) chiropractic program database. Formal permission to conduct the analysis of the database was acquired from the officer of records at the MCC. The University of Manitoba’s Health Research Ethics Board approved all procedures.
Results
Young people (defined as 10–24 years of age) demonstrated statistically and clinically significant improvement on the numeric rating scale (NRS) in all four spinal regions following chiropractic management.
Conclusion
The findings of the present study provide evidence that a pragmatic course of chiropractic care, including SM, mobilization, soft tissue therapy, acupuncture, and other modalities within the chiropractic scope of practice are a viable conservative pain management treatment option for young people.