Open AccessIs Spinal Manipulation Effective for Pain? An Overview of Systematic Reviews
Author(s) -
Posadzki Paul
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
pain medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.893
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1526-4637
pISSN - 1526-2375
DOI - 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2012.01397.x
Subject(s) - medicine , epicondylitis , physical therapy , fibromyalgia , neck pain , spinal manipulation , systematic review , whiplash , low back pain , physical medicine and rehabilitation , medline , alternative medicine , surgery , pathology , political science , law , poison control , environmental health , elbow
Objective. This article is aimed at critically evaluating the evidence from systematic reviews (SRs) of spinal manipulation in patients with pain. Design. The study was designed as a SR of SRs. Methods. Four electronic databases were searched to identify all relevant articles of the effectiveness of spinal manipulation for pain. SRs were defined as articles employing a repeatable methods section. Results. Twenty‐two SRs relating to the following pain conditions: low back pain (N = 6), headache (N = 5), neck pain (N = 4), any medical problem (N = 1), carpal tunnel syndrome (N = 1), dysmenorrhea (N = 1), fibromyalgia (N = 1), lateral epicondylitis (N = 1), musculoskeletal conditions (N = 1) and nonspinal pain (N = 1), were included. Positive or, for multiple SR, unanimously positive conclusions were drawn for none of the conditions mentioned earlier. Limitation. Publication bias as a well‐known phenomenon may have been inherited in this article. Conclusion. Collectively, these data fail to demonstrate that spinal manipulation is an effective intervention for pain management.