None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Low back pain (LBP) is a significant public health problem around the world. Despite the best efforts of researchers and public health officials over a number of decades, the problem is getting worse. A promising area of LBP research involves subtyping LBP patients based on biomechanical and neuromuscular control markers so the most appropriate treatment can be provided based on their individual needs. We plan to investigate if we can highlight sub-groups in the subclinical and LBP group and what effect chiropractic care has on the neuromuscular control and biomechanical markers that have been identified as being important for the development, recurrence and maintenance of LBP, for each sub-groups, in order to see how each group respond to chiropractic care. To do so biomechanical and neurophysiological data will be assessed, in order to discriminate subgroup in LBP and sub-clinical groups, and to assess the different responses to chiropractic treatment from those sub-groups. The data will be collected in different moving conditions, including walking, basic movement tasks and perturbations from standing position, with eyes open and closed.
Interventions
The experimental intervention will be a single session of chiropractic care. Full spine adjustments will be carried out during the experimental session. The entire spine and sacroiliac joints will be assessed for vertebral subluxations and adjusted where deemed necessary by a registered chiropractor. The intervention will take approximately 15 minutes to carry out. The chiropractor will takes notes that will be used to monitor the intervention process and result.
Sponsors
New Zealand College of Chiropractic
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Primary purpose
Treatment
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
30 subjects will be recruited in each of the three groups, via advertising within the New Zealand College of Chiropractic community. Participants may include students, staff, faculty, and previous patients of the College’s chiropractic center and also family, friends and acquaintances of the New Zealand College of Chiropractic community. Subjects must be English speaking and aged 18-50. The inclusion criteria for the NSLBP group is to present a non-specific LBP. LBP being defined by a pain located between the lower rib margins and the buttock crease and for which the pathoanatomical cause of the pain is not determined. To be part of the sub-clinical group a subject must have had some history of recurring spinal dysfunction such as mild pain, ache, and/or stiffness with or without a history of know trauma.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria for the LBP and sub-clinical group will be an identifiable cause for the LBP. Subjects will also be ineligible to participate if they exhibit no evidence of vertebral subluxations, have absolute contraindications to spinal adjustment, have experienced previous significant adverse reactions to chiropractic care, or they are suffering from a current lower limb disorder/dysfunction that would make them unable to carry out data recording sessions (e.g. severe sprain/strain/fracture). Individuals with a recent history of inner ear infection with associated balance or coordination problem, a history of cerebral trauma with unresolved neurosensory symptoms, a recent history of vestibular disorder, previous spinal surgery, an involvement in specific balance or stabilization training in the 6 months before testing, and those taking pain medication will be excluded. The low back pain must have been present at least 3 months in the last year to be counted as chronic. In addition, the subclinical subjects must be at a maximum of 2 out of 10 on the pain scale during the day of the data collection.
Outcome results
None listed