To Manip or not to Manip?

To Manip or not to Manip?

Reference:Learnan et al No Differences in Outcomes in People with Low Back Pain Who Met the Clinical Prediction Rule for Lumbar Spine Manipulation When a Pragmatic Non-thrust Manipulation Was Used as the Comparator. Physiotherapy Canada. 2014 Fall,66(4) 359-366

In the past decade, the lumbar manipulation Clinical Prediction Rule (CPR) has become quite popular. However studies seem to be knocking it down, such as the one published recently in Physiotherapy Canada.

It turns out, patients who have low back symptoms of less than 16 days duration, with no symptoms below the knee and who have low fear avoidance beliefs do well with either manipulation or mobilizations.

Perhaps the CPR is just a powerful prognostic influence regardless of the type of manual therapy they get.

I love research, one year you believe in something and the next decade science proves it differently.

Although I certainly promote spinal manipulations as one of many PT treatment options, we have yet to have a study showing that spinal manipulations are superior to mobilization techniques proposed by Robin McKenzie, PT and Brian Mulligan, PT (my heroes from New Zealand!)

Posted on: July 03, 2015

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