scholarly journals Inter- and intra-examiner reliability of lumbar spine radiograph analysis by chiropractors and its impact on clinical management

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Zandile Mdakane

Radiographs are the most commonly used modalities for the purpose of diagnosing skeletal disorders. Radiographs are important for chiropractors to exclude any contra-indications prior to spinal manipulative therapy. If contra-indications are found treatment is modified to what best suits each patient. There is a gap in the literature regarding chiropractors reading the same set of radiographs and agreeing on findings. Objectives The study investigated inter- and intra-examiner reliability of lumbar spine radiograph analysis by chiropractors and its impact on clinical management. Methods Inter- and intra-examiner examination of radiographs occurred in two rounds separated by two weeks. Six chiropractors read the same 30 radiographs and clinical history was only available in the second round. Results Inter-observer agreement for categorisation for Round One was 96.78% and Round Two 89.49%. Inter-observer agreement in management was 96.45% in round one and 96.00% in Round two. Agreement between chiropractors had no statistically significant difference. Identification average improved from 0.09 to 0.89 kappa. Overall specificity was relatively high and sensitivity was relatively low. Conclusion Reliability/Agreement between chiropractors was strong in both rounds. Categorising of the diagnosis improved from poor to substantial from Round One to Round Two. Case history improved the accuracy of interpreting the radiographs although this change was not statistically significant.

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e000389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno A P Alvarenga ◽  
Ricardo Fujikawa ◽  
Filipa João ◽  
Jerusa P R Lara ◽  
António P Veloso

Background and aimMusculoskeletal disorders in athletes, including spinal biomechanical dysfunctions, are believed to negatively influence symmetry. Spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) is recognised as a safe and effective treatment for musculoskeletal disorders, but there is little evidence about whether it can be beneficial in symmetry. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the effects of lumbar SMT in symmetry.MethodsForty asymptomatic athletes participated in the study. The randomisation procedure was performed according to the following group allocation: group 1 (SMT) and group 2 (SHAM). Each participant completed a physical activity questionnaire, and also underwent clinical and physical evaluation for inclusion according to eligibility criteria. Statistical significance (P<0.05) between groups and types of therapy were calculated by physical performance tests symmetry (static position, squat and counter movement jump (CMJ), pre- and post-SMT and SHAM. There were 14 trials of three symmetry tests for each participant, for a total of 560 trials.ResultsLumbar SMT produced immediate effects in symmetry in the static position; however, the same effects were not found in squat and CMJ on symmetry 1. Therefore, our results showed a significant difference in pre- (mean 16.3%) and post-lumbar SMT (mean 3.7%) in static symmetry. However, symmetry 2 showed no statistical significant differences for any of the tests and intervention groups. No statistically significant effects in symmetry pre- to post-SHAM were found in any of the tests.ConclusionsStatistically significant differences were found in lumbar SMT, but only for static symmetry. These findings suggest that SMT was effective in producing immediate effects in symmetry in the static position, but none in dynamic tests. Future studies could address our study's limitations.Clinical trials register numberNCT03361592.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amira Saii ◽  
Toumi Salma ◽  
Beya Fendri ◽  
Hanen Abid ◽  
Rania Lahouimel ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Aims Vascular calcification has now been recognized as a major problem in dialysis patients because of its strong influence on the prognosis of this population. Several reports have shown the strong relationship between vascular calcification and clinical outcomes including cardiovascular events and arteriovenous fistula (AVF)survival. The aim of this study is to evaluate the severity of vascular calcifications in our hemodialysis patients and to determine its impact on the AVF survival. Method It is a transversal descriptive and analytical study including chronic haemodialysis patients in our unit of the nephrology department. A lateral lumbar spine radiograph was taken: the aortic arch calcification(ACC) score (VCS) was calculated according to the score validated by Kauppila and Schousboe. The overall VCS ranged from 0 to 24. Results Our study included 55 patients divided into 31 men and 24 women with a sex ratio of 1.29. The mean age was 49.54 ± 12.66 years. The mean duration in HD was 96.16± 73 months. 76.8% of the patients have hypertension, 26.8% are diabetic and 14.3% are smokers. AVF failure was noted in 34 patients (60.7%). We divided our population in 3 groups: G1:23 patients with a low VCS (41.1%), G2: 15 patients with a moderate VCS (26.8%) and G3: 17 patients with a severe VCS (30.4%). Patients in G2 and G3 were more frequently diabetics (p=0.05): over 50% of patients in G3 were diabetic and the mean duration in HD was longer: 133 months in G3, 102 months in G2 and 74 months in G1 with a significant difference p=0.03. We noted that AVF failure was more frequent in patients in G2 and G3 (65.7%) patients) versus patients in G1 (39.13%) with a significant difference (p=0.01) Conclusion vascular access dysfunction is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in haemodialysis patients We have demonstrated throw this study the relation between the presence of higher AAC grade and the poor survival of AVF in our patients. So, an identification of these ACC by a simple lateral lumbar spine radiograph would allow the clinician to implement more rigorous and planned monitoring for such AVFs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Côté ◽  
Jan Hartvigsen ◽  
Iben Axén ◽  
Charlotte Leboeuf-Yde ◽  
Melissa Corso ◽  
...  

Abstract Background A small proportion of chiropractors, osteopaths, and other manual medicine providers use spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) to manage non-musculoskeletal disorders. However, the efficacy and effectiveness of these interventions to prevent or treat non-musculoskeletal disorders remain controversial. Objectives We convened a Global Summit of international scientists to conduct a systematic review of the literature to determine the efficacy and effectiveness of SMT for the primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of non-musculoskeletal disorders. Global summit The Global Summit took place on September 14–15, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. It was attended by 50 researchers from 8 countries and 28 observers from 18 chiropractic organizations. At the summit, participants critically appraised the literature and synthesized the evidence. Systematic review of the literature We searched MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, and the Index to Chiropractic Literature from inception to May 15, 2019 using subject headings specific to each database and free text words relevant to manipulation/manual therapy, effectiveness, prevention, treatment, and non-musculoskeletal disorders. Eligible for review were randomized controlled trials published in English. The methodological quality of eligible studies was assessed independently by reviewers using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) criteria for randomized controlled trials. We synthesized the evidence from articles with high or acceptable methodological quality according to the Synthesis without Meta-Analysis (SWiM) Guideline. The final risk of bias and evidence tables were reviewed by researchers who attended the Global Summit and 75% (38/50) had to approve the content to reach consensus. Results We retrieved 4997 citations, removed 1123 duplicates and screened 3874 citations. Of those, the eligibility of 32 articles was evaluated at the Global Summit and 16 articles were included in our systematic review. Our synthesis included six randomized controlled trials with acceptable or high methodological quality (reported in seven articles). These trials investigated the efficacy or effectiveness of SMT for the management of infantile colic, childhood asthma, hypertension, primary dysmenorrhea, and migraine. None of the trials evaluated the effectiveness of SMT in preventing the occurrence of non-musculoskeletal disorders. Consensus was reached on the content of all risk of bias and evidence tables. All randomized controlled trials with high or acceptable quality found that SMT was not superior to sham interventions for the treatment of these non-musculoskeletal disorders. Six of 50 participants (12%) in the Global Summit did not approve the final report. Conclusion Our systematic review included six randomized clinical trials (534 participants) of acceptable or high quality investigating the efficacy or effectiveness of SMT for the treatment of non-musculoskeletal disorders. We found no evidence of an effect of SMT for the management of non-musculoskeletal disorders including infantile colic, childhood asthma, hypertension, primary dysmenorrhea, and migraine. This finding challenges the validity of the theory that treating spinal dysfunctions with SMT has a physiological effect on organs and their function. Governments, payers, regulators, educators, and clinicians should consider this evidence when developing policies about the use and reimbursement of SMT for non-musculoskeletal disorders.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Côté ◽  
Jan Hartvigsen ◽  
Iben Axén ◽  
Charlotte Leboeuf-Yde ◽  
Melissa Corso ◽  
...  

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Casper Glissmann Nim ◽  
Gregory Neil Kawchuk ◽  
Berit Schiøttz-Christensen ◽  
Søren O’Neill

Abstract Background In a prior randomized trial, we demonstrated that participants receiving spinal manipulative therapy at a pain-sensitive segment instead of a stiff segment experienced increased mechanical pressure pain thresholds. We hypothesized that the targeted segment mediated this increase through a segment-dependent neurophysiological reflective pathway. Presently, it is not known if this decrease in pain sensitivity is associated with clinical improvement. Therefore, we performed an explorative analysis to examine if changes in experimental pain sensitivity (mechanical and thermal) and lumbar stiffness were further dependent on clinical improvement in disability and patient-reported low back pain. Methods This study is a secondary explorative analysis of data from the randomized trial that compared 132 participants with chronic low back pain who received lumbar spinal manipulative therapy applied at either i) the stiffest segment or ii) the segment having the lowest pain threshold (i.e., the most pain-sensitive segment). We collected data at baseline, after the fourth session of spinal manipulation, and at 14-days follow-up. Participants were dichotomized into responders/non-responders using different clinical variables (disability and patient-reported low back pain) with varying threshold values (0, 30, and 50% improvement). Mixed models were used to assess changes in experimental outcomes (stiffness and pain sensitivity). The fixed interaction terms were time, segment allocation, and responder status. Results We observed a significant increase in mechanical pressure pain thresholds for the group, which received spinal manipulative therapy at the most pain-sensitive segment independent of whether they improved clinically or not. Those who received spinal manipulation at the stiffest segment also demonstrated increased mechanical pain sensitivity, but only in the subgroup with clinical improvement. We did not observe any changes in lumbar stiffness. Conclusion Our results suggest the existence of two different mechanistic pathways associated with the spinal manipulation target. i) A decrease of mechanical pain sensitivity independent of clinical outcome (neurophysiological) and ii) a decrease as a reflection of the clinical outcome. Together, these observations may provide a novel framework that improves our understanding of why some respond to spinal manipulative therapy while others do not. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04086667 registered retrospectively September 11th 2019.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julita A. Teodorczyk-Injeyan ◽  
John J. Triano ◽  
Robert Gringmuth ◽  
Christopher DeGraauw ◽  
Adrian Chow ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The inflammatory profiles of patients with acute and chronic nonspecific low back pain (LBP) patients are distinct. Spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) has been shown to modulate the production of nociceptive chemokines differently in these patient cohorts. The present study further investigates the effect(s) of SMT on other inflammatory mediators in the same LBP patient cohorts. Methods Acute (n = 22) and chronic (n = 25) LBP patients with minimum pain scores of 3 on a 10-point numeric scale, and asymptomatic controls (n = 24) were recruited according to stringent exclusion criteria. Blood samples were obtained at baseline and after 2 weeks during which patients received 6 SMTs in the lumbar or lumbosacral region. The in vitro production of tumor necrosis factor (TNFα), interleukin-1 β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-2, interferon ɣ (IFNɣ), IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), TNF soluble receptor type 2 (sTNFR2) and IL-10 was determined by specific immunoassays. Parametric as well as non-parametric statistics (PAST 3.18 beta software) was used to determine significance of differences between and within study groups prior and post-SMT. Effect size (ES) estimates were obtained using Cohen’s d. Results Compared with asymptomatic controls, SMT-related change scores were significant (P = 0.03–0.01) in reducing the production levels of TNFα in both patient cohorts and those of IL-6, IFNɣ and sTNFR2 (P = 0.001–0.02) in patients with chronic LBP. Above-moderate to large ES (d > 0.6–1.4) was observed for these mediators. Compared with respective baselines, a significant post-SMT reduction (P = 0.01) of IL-6 production was detected only in patients with chronic LBP while a significant increase of IL-2 production (P = 0.001 vs. control, and P = 0.004 vs. chronic LBP group) and a large ES (d = 0.87) were observed in patients with acute LBP. Pain and disability scores declined significantly (P < 0.001) in all LBP patients, and were positively correlated (P = 0.03) with IFNɣ and IL-2 levels in the acute LBP cohort. Conclusion The short course of SMT treatments of non-specific LBP patients resulted in significant albeit limited and diverse alterations in the production of several of the mediators investigated in this study. This exploratory study highlights the potential of SMT to modulate the production of inflammatory components in acute and chronic non-specific LBP patients and suggests a need for further, randomized controlled clinical trials in this area. Trial registration This study was prospectively registered April 2012 with Clinical Trials.gov (#NCT01766141). https://register.clinicaltrials.gov/prs/app/action/SelectProtocol?sid=S0003ZIL&selectaction=Edit&uid=U0001V74&ts=2&cx=-axvqtg


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