Chronic Low Back Pain

Disc height discrepancy between supine and standing positions as a screening metric for discogenic back pain in patients with disc degeneration

July 14, 2020 Seong Son, MD, Ph.D. The Spine Journal Published:July 17, 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spinee.2020.07.006 Highlight The diagnosis of discogenic low back pain (LBP) in early to middle stage disc degeneration (Pfirrmann grade II, III, or IV) of the lumbar spine is ambiguous, unless a discography is performed. The disc height (DH) discrepancy ratio between supine and […]

Therapeutic Ultrasound for Chronic Low Back Pain

Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Jul 5;7:CD009169. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009169.pub3. Safoora Ebadi Abstract Background: This is an update of a Cochrane Review published in 2014. Chronic non-specific low back pain (LBP) has become one of the main causes of disability in the adult population around the world. Although therapeutic ultrasound is not recommended in recent clinical guidelines, […]

Effectiveness of spinal manipulation and myofascial release compared with spinal manipulation alone on health-related outcomes in individuals with non-specific low back pain: randomized controlled trial

Physiotherapy Volume 107, June 2020, Pages 71-80 Taise AngeliBoff Abstract Objective To investigate the effectiveness of spinal manipulation combined with myofascial release compared with spinal manipulation alone, in individuals with chronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP). Design Randomized controlled trial with three months follow-up. Setting Rehabilitation clinic. Participants Seventy-two individuals (between 18 and 50 years […]

Healthcare Resource Utilization and Management of Chronic, Refractory Low Back Pain in the United States

Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2020 May 21. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000003572. Online ahead of print. Charis A Spears PMID: 32453242 DOI: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000003572 Abstract Study design: Retrospective analysis of inpatient and outpatient medical insurance claims data from a database containing over 100 million individuals. Objective: To quantify the healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) of non-surgical treatments in the first 2 years after […]

The Nordic maintenance care program: maintenance care reduces the number of days with pain in acute episodes and increases the length of pain free periods for dysfunctional patients with recurrent and persistent low back pain

The Nordic maintenance care program: maintenance care reduces the number of days with pain in acute episodes and increases the length of pain free periods for dysfunctional patients with recurrent and persistent low back pain – a secondary analysis of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial Andreas Eklund Chiropractic & Manual Therapies Volume 28, Article number: 19 (2020) Abstract Background A […]

Effectiveness of Spinal Manipulation and Myofascial Release Compared With Spinal Manipulation Alone on Health-Related Outcomes in Individuals With Non-Specific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Trial

Physiotherapy, 107, 71-80 2019 Nov 18 Taise Angeli Boff Abstract Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of spinal manipulation combined with myofascial release compared with spinal manipulation alone, in individuals with chronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP). Design: Randomized controlled trial with three months follow-up. Setting: Rehabilitation clinic. Participants: Seventy-two individuals (between 18 and 50 years […]

T’ai Chi for Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Adults: A Feasibility Trial

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine Karen J. Sherman, Robert D. Wellman, Rene J. Hawkes, Elizabeth A. Phelan, Tamsin Lee, and Judith A. Turner Published Online:3 Feb 2020 https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2019.0438 Abstract Objectives:T’ai chi (TC) has been found effective for improving chronic low back pain (cLBP). However, such studies did not include adults over 65 years […]

Evidence of efficacy of acupuncture in the management of low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised placebo-or sham-controlled trials

Acupunct Med. 2019 Sep 16:acupmed2017011445. doi: 10.1136/acupmed-2017-011445. [Epub ahead of print] Xiang Y1, He JY2, Tian HH1, Cao BY3, Li R1. Abstract OBJECTIVES: To assess the evidence for the efficacy of acupuncture for non-specific low back pain (NSLBP), compared with sham or placebo therapies. METHODS: We searched Cochrane CENTRAL to December 2016, and conducted searches […]

The efficacy of muscle energy techniques in symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects: a systematic review – Full Text

Ewan Thomas, Antonio Rosario Cavallaro, Diba Mani, Antonino Bianco & Antonio Palma Chiropractic & Manual Therapies volume 27, Article number: 35 (2019) Background Muscle energy techniques are applied to reduce pain and increase range of motion. These are applied to a variety of pathological conditions and on asymptomatic subjects. There is however limited knowledge on […]

Physical activity and chronic back conditions: A population-based pooled study of 60,134 adults

J Sport Health Sci. 2019 Jul;8(4):386-393. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2019.01.003. Epub 2019 Jan 11. Alzahrani H Abstract BACKGROUND: Little is known about the association between different types of physical activity (PA) and chronic back conditions (CBCs) at the population level. We investigated the association between levels of total and type-specific PA participation and CBCs. METHODS: The sample […]

Exercise Intensity Matters in Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain Rehabilitation

Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019 Jul 1. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002078. [Epub ahead of print] Verbrugghe J Abstract INTRODUCTION: Exercise therapy (ET) is advocated as a treatment for chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNSLBP). However, therapy effect sizes remain low. In other chronic disorders, training at higher intensity has resulted in greater improvements on both general health […]

Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated with Muscle Atrophy and Reduced Mitochondrial Function in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain – Full Text Article

Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2019; 2019: 6835341. Published online 2019 Jun 2. doi: 10.1155/2019/6835341 PMCID: PMC6589343 PMID: 31281588 Katarzyna Patrycja Dzik Abstract Recent studies show that vitamin D deficiency may be responsible for muscle atrophy. The purpose of this study was to investigate markers of muscle atrophy, signalling proteins, and mitochondrial capacity in patients with […]

Increased Salience Network Connectivity following Spinal Manipulative Therapy is Associated with Reduced Pain in Chronic Low Back Pain Patients

The Journal of Pain K. Isenburg, M. Loggia April 2019 Volume 20, Issue 4, Supplement, Page S42 Abstract Chronic low back pain (cLBP) has been associated with maladaptive brain plasticity, and non-pharmacological therapies such as Spinal Manipulative Therapy (SMT) have shown promise in reducing pain and modifying intrinsic brain physiology. However, more translational research is […]

Insomnia and Chronic Pain

~ Study investigates role of psychiatric disorders in sleep-pain relationship by Judy George, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today March 12, 2019 DENVER — The presence of a psychiatric disorder did not appear to influence relationships between pain and sleep, researchers reported here. Sleep and pain were significantly correlated and their association was similar regardless of whether […]

Effect of spinal manipulative therapy on mechanical pain sensitivity in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain: a pilot randomized, controlled trial

Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy Bryan M. Bond Published online: 05 Mar 2019 ABSTRACT Objectives: The long-term goal of our study is to improve the understanding of the biological mechanisms associated with spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) in low back pain. Methods: This project involved a pilot randomized, blinded clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov registration number NCT03078114) […]

An observational study on trajectories and outcomes of chronic low back pain patients referred from a spine surgery division for chiropractic treatment – Full Text Article

Brigitte Wirth Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2019 27:6 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12998-018-0225-8© The Author(s). 2019 Received: 16 May 2018Accepted: 13 December 2018Published: 5 February 2019 Background A close collaboration between surgeons and non-surgical spine experts is crucial for optimal care of low back pain (LBP) patients. The affiliation of a chiropractic teaching clinic to a university hospital with […]

Lumbar Muscle Activation Pattern During Forward and Backward Walking in Participants With and Without Chronic Low Back Pain: An Electromyographic Study

Journal of Chiropractic Medicine Volume 17, Issue 4, December 2018, Pages 217-225 Original research Bushra Ansari MPT Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the electromyographic activity of lumbar multifidus (MF) and erector spinae (ES) muscle during forward walking (FW) and backward walking (BW) in participants with and without chronic low back […]

Is spinal mobilization effective for low back pain?: A systematic review – Full Text Article

Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice Volume 34, February 2019, Pages 51-63 Kosaku Aoyagi Highlights • Fourteen studies in spinal mobilization alone for low back pain were assessed. • The quality of the studies was moderate to high. • The outcomes of pain, function and range of motion have higher level of evidence. • Future studies […]

Brain Mechanisms of Anticipated Painful Movements and Their Modulation by Manual Therapy in Chronic Low Back Pain

J Pain. 2018 Nov;19(11):1352-1365. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2018.05.012. Epub 2018 Jul 3. Ellingsen DM Abstract Heightened anticipation and fear of movement-related pain has been linked to detrimental fear-avoidance behavior in chronic low back pain (cLBP). Spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) has been proposed to work partly by exposing patients to nonharmful but forceful mobilization of the painful joint, […]

Neuroplasticity Altered With Chronic Back Pain

Ingrid Hein October 25, 2018 Patients who suffer chronic lower back pain, particularly those on sick leave, might have different mechanisms of pain control in the brain, results from a study of functional MRI show. Researchers at the American College of Rheumatology 2018 Annual Meeting in Chicago reported a weaker functional MRI signal in emotion-related […]