Asthma
Patients afflicted with asthma may benefit from spinal manipulation in terms of symptons, immunological capacity, and endocrine effects. The investigative team, headed by Ray Hayek, Ph.D., has been conducting a trial at 16 treatment centres in Australia involving 420 patients with an average age of 46 in an effort to find out what effects spinal manipulation has on symptoms, depression and anxiety, general health status, and the levels of immunity as reflected by the concentrations of both an immunoglobulin (IgA) and an immunosuppressant (cortisol).
Dr. Hayek reported that only the patient group which underwent spinal manipulation displayed significant improvement in asthma symptoms and depression and anxiety scores. In addition, patients actually undergoing spinal manipulation displayed dramatic increases of IgA and decreases of cortisol through the post-treatment period, suggesting that there were physiological consequences to their manipulative treatments reflecting increased immunological capacities which would be expected to ward off subsequent asthmatic attacks.
These biochemical changes not only suggest that the effects of spinal manipulation are more far-reaching than commonly believed, but that they may be more long-term as well. This research represents one of approx 50 projects administered by FCER since 1990 in the effort to document both the theory and practice of chiropractic to increase its effective integration into healthcare systems worldwide. back to the top

Headaches
From: J. Manipulative Physiol Ter 2001 (Sept) 24(7) 456-466
Gert Bronfort, DC.PhD, Willem J.J. Assendelft, MD, PhD, Roni Evans,DC, Michell Haas, DC, Lex Bouter PhD
Background: Chronic headache is a prevalent condition with substantial socioeconomic impact.
Study Selection: Randomized clinical trials on chronic headache (tension, migraine and cervicogenic) were included in the review if they compared SMT (Spinal Manipulative Therapy)with other interventions or placebo. The trials had to have at least 1 patient-rated outcome measure such as pain severity , frequency, duration, improvement, use of analgesics, disability, or quality of life.
Data Synthesis: Nine trials involving 683 patients with chronic headache were included.
Conclusions: SMT appears to have a better effect than massage for cerviogenic headache. It also appears that SMT has an effect comparable to commonly used first-line prophylactic prescription medications for tension-type headache and migraine headache. This conclusions rests upon a few trials of adequate methodological quality.
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Migraines
If you suffer from migraines, you're certainly not alone. They're relatively common, affecting an estimated 10% of the population. What can be done to get rid of migraines? According to a recent study, chiropractic care may hold the answer.
One hundrend and twenty-seven migraine patients (at least one migraine per month) were divided into two groups for comparison. Group 1 received chiropractic adjustments at specific vertebral subluxations determined by the treating practitioner; group 2 served as controls and received inactive treatment (electrical stimulation with no current delivered). Subjects receiving chiropractic adjustments reported substantial improvement in migraine frequency, duration, disability, and medication use following two months of treatment. One in five participants reported 90% reduction in migraines, and half reported significant improvement in migrain severity.
Are you tired of migraine headaches ruining your day? With conventional over the counter medications proving less than effective (and often accompanied by dangerous side effects,) it's time to fight the pain from another angle. To find out more about the potential benefits of chiropractic care, schedule an appointment with your doctor of chiropractic.
Reference: Tuchin PJ, Pollard H, Bonello R.A. randomized controlled trail of chriorpractic spinal manipulative therapy for migraine. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Feb 2000: vol 23 No.2, pp91-95
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Neck
Manual therapy preserves the mobility - and money - of patients, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. An Amsterdam research team studied 183 patients with neck pain of at least two weeks duration. Of the patients (18-70 years of age) 60 received manual therapy, 59 received physiotherapy, and 64 received treatment from a general practitioner (GP).
A higher percentage of patients in the manual therapy group reported "complete recover" after 7 weeks than either of the other two groups.
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Manual Therapy
The randomized, controlled trial compared the efficacy of manual therapy, physiotherapy and general practitioner care in reducing neck pain. 183 patients with neck pain of at least two weeks duration were randomly assigned to one of three groups: manual therapy (spinal mobilization); physiotherapy (mainly exercise); or general pracitioner care (counseling, education and analgesics).
Results: Manual therapy was the most effective of the three treatments, with 68% of patients demonstrating recover after seven weeks, compared to 51% in the physiotherapy group and 36% in the general practitioner group.
Reference: Korthals-de Bos IB, Hovin JL, van Tulder MW, et al. Cost effectiveness of physiotherpay, manual therapy and general practitioner care for neck pain: economic evaluation alongside a randomised controlled trial. British Medicual Journal, april 26, 2003:336. www.bmj.co.uk

Low Back Pain
It's estimated that 8 out of 10 people suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Witness the results of a recent study comparing one-month outcomes for 93 chiropractic patients and 45 medical patients with chronic, recurrent LBP. Chiropractic care included spinal manipulation and various forms of physiotherapy, averaging 4 patient visits. Medical care averaged one visit and frequently included the prescription of anit-inflammatory drugs.
Patients treated by chiropractors showed better overall improvement and satisfaction after one month than patients treated by family physicians. Chiropractic patients showed substantial decreases in pain severity, functional disability, and pain quality, while medical patients showed only minimal improvements with regard to the first two measures, and deterioration in the third.
Reference: Nyiendo J, Haas M, Goodwin P. Patient characteristics, practice activities, and one-month outcomes for chronic, recurrent low-back pain treated by chiropractors and family medical physicians: a practice-based feasibility study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, May 2000: Vol.23, No4, pp238-45
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Consider this: A recent study compared the effectiveness of chiropractic care vs. medical management for LBP and found that chiropractic care had a higher rate of success in treating LBP than did traditional medical care.
Reasearchers examined 2,870 adult patients with acute or chronic LBP from the practices of 51 chiropractic clinics and 14 general practice community clinics, patients rated the intensity of their current pain levels on a pain scale of 0-100.
At the one and three month intervals, "clinical importance" was achieved with chiropractic care administered to chronic LBP patients. Comparing chiropractic vs. medical care, the average difference in pain scores was 12.2 points at one month and 10.5 points at three months, favouring chiropractic care.
Reference: Haas M, Goldberg B, Aickin M, et al. A practice based study of patients with acute and chronic low back pain attending primary care and chiropractic physicians: two-week to 48 month follow-up. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2004; 27:160-169.
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PMS
From: J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1999 (May); 22 (4) 216-220
Walsh MJ Polus Bl
Objective: As part of a randomized clinical trial to determine the efficacy of chiropractic therapy on premenstrual syndrome (PMS) subjects were evaluated for initial underlying spinal dysfunction.
Design: All subjects underwent a full history, physical and chiropractic examination carried out by 1 of 2 fully qualified and registered chiropractors, each with a minimum of 10 years experience. The results of assessment for the PMS group were compared with those of the non PMS group.
Conclusions: a relatively high incidence of spinal dysfunction exists in PMS sufferers compared with a comparable group of non-PMS sufferers. This is suggestive that spinal dysfunction could be a causative factor in PMS and that chiropractic manipulative therapy may offer an alternative therapeutic approach for PMS sufferers.
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Whiplash
For many people, the term "whiplash" conjures up a fairly uncomfortable image: being rear-ended by another car and having your head suddenly snapped back and forth by the impact. Despite innovations in automotive design, whiplash injuries have become increasingly frequent in the past 30 years. Symptoms of whiplash can include serious and lingering neck pain, back pain, headaches and dizziness; no single effective treatment has been identified to deal with this chronic, frustrating condition.
A recent study in Spine suggests that early, active treatment is most effective for managing whiplash symptoms. In the study, "active" treatment consisted of repetitive motion exercises performed at home.
Results showed that 38% of patients receiving immediate, active treatment reported "no pain" at six-month follow-up, compared to only 5% of patients receiving delayed standard treatment. The authors note that this type of active home treatment is an "ideal form of rehabilitation" because it expends only small resources within the health care system.
Reference: Rosenfield M, Gunnarsson R, Borenstein P. Early intervention in whiplash-associated disorders. A comparison of two treatment protocols Spine 2000: Vol. 25, No.14, pp1782-87.