Chiropractic and Self-Care for Back-Related Leg Pain: Design of a Randomized Clinical Trial

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bronfort G ; Evans RL ; Gudavalli MR ; Hondras MA ; Long CR ; Owens EF ; Schulz CA ; Wilder DG
• Description:
  Background: Back-related leg pain (BRLP) is a common variation of low back pain (LBP), with lifetime prevalence estimates as high as 40%. Often disabling, BRLP accounts for greater work loss, recurrences, and higher costs than uncomplicated LBP and more often leads to surgery with a lifetime incidence of 10% for those with severe BRLP, compared to 1-2% for those with LBP. In the US, half of those with back-related conditions seek CAM treatments, the most common of which is chiropractic care. While there is preliminary evidence suggesting chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy is beneficial for patients with BRLP, there is insufficient evidence currently available to assess the effectiveness of this care. Methods/Design: This study is a two-site, prospective, parallel group, observer-blinded randomized clinical trial (RCT). A total of 192 study patients will be recruited from the Twin Cities, Minnesota (n = 122) and Quad Cities area in Iowa and Illinois (n = 70) to the research clinics at WHCCS and PCCR, respectively. It compares two interventions: chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) plus home exercise program (HEP) to HEP alone (minimal intervention comparison) for patients with subacute or chronic back-related leg pain. Discussion: Back-related leg pain (BRLP) is a costly and often disabling variation of the ubiquitous back pain conditions. As health care costs continue to climb, the search for effective treatments with few side-effects is critical. While SMT is the most commonly sought CAM treatment for LBP sufferers, there is only a small, albeit promising, body of research to support its use for patients with BRLP. This study seeks to fill a critical gap in the LBP literature by performing the first full scale RCT assessing chiropractic SMT for patients with sub-acute or chronic BRLP using important patient-oriented and objective biomechanical outcome measures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Biomechanics Effectiveness Research Intervention Effectiveness Leg Injuries Lost Work Days Low Back Pain MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders
• ISSN:
  2045-709
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; Minnesota ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  8
• Volume:
  19
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063642
• Citation:
  Chiropr Man Therap 2011 Mar; 19:8
• Contact Point Address:
  Craig A Schulz, Northwestern Health Sciences University, Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies, 2501 West 84th Street, Bloomington, MN 55431, USA
• Email:
  cschulz@nwhealth.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Chiropractic & Manual Therapies
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:feb2e8c7549788153306e0c48b5a72e7d2eb74f1664ff9a4062a230a5624bf50a0aefaa78ebd4d6b7385a0f2586e8580da0f2e0ce63aee78b4dd97bdb17b76f2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222210/cdc_222210_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 808.45 KB ]