Massive NIH Grant to Study Benefits of SMT for Back Pain
Editorial Staff
| DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $14 million grant to the University of Minnesota and University of Washington to study the benefits of spinal manipulation for back pain vs. standard medical care (including prescription medication). Touted as one of the largest back pain studies ever funded by the NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the national, multi-site clinical trial will feature a multidisciplinary research team from the chiropractic, medical, osteopathic and physical therapy fields, representing a half-dozen universities.
Participating researchers hail from the University of Minnesota (whose Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing received the bulk of the NIH award for the clinical trial, which will be conducted at the University of Minnesota and the University of Pittsburgh), the University of Washington (which received the remaining funds for data management / statistical support), Oregon Health and Sciences University, Duke University, and the University of North Texas.
The "Spinal Manipulation and Patient Self-Management for Preventing Acute to Chronic Back Pain Trial" will compare spinal manipulative therapy and supported self-management vs. usual medical care (including prescription medications). Supported self-care includes behavioral and copies strategies, mind-body approaches, lifestyle advice, and pain education – all designed to address the biopsychosocial aspects of back pain. Nearly 1,200 patients will be enrolled in the study beginning next spring.
Gert Brontfort, DC, PhD, a professor in the Bakken Center's Integrative Health and Wellbeing Research Program, will serve as lead investigator on the study. Other doctors of chiropractic involved in the study include the University of Pittsburgh's Michael Schneider, DC, PhD (co-principal investigator for the Clinical Coordinating Center, which will conduct the clinical trial) and Joel Stevens, DC, PhD; Roni Evans, DC, PhD (who directs the Integrative Health and Wellbeing Research Program at the U. of Minnesota Bakken Center), and Brent Leininger, DC, MS, also from the University of Minnesota.
The Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing at the University of Minnesota is partially funded by the NCMIC Foundation. According to Mary Jo Kreitzer, PhD, RN, FAAN, a professor in the school of Nursing at the U. of Minnesota and director of the Bakken Center, "The support of NCMIC Foundation has been pivotal to helping the Center establish a world-class research program in chiropractic and integrative health from the influential platform of a prestigious land-grant university. It has also helped us to advance future research affiliations."
Some doctors thrive in a personality-based clinic and have a loyal following no matter what services or equipment they offer, but for most chiropractic offices who are trying to grow and expand, new equipment purchases help us stay relevant and continue to service our client base in the best, most up-to-date manner possible. So, regarding equipment purchasing: should you lease, get a bank loan, or pay cash?
Some pundits say that the upcoming presidential and congressional races, and many local races, might be the most consequential in our country’s history. We do not have the choice of sitting on the sidelines and hoping our patients will carry our water. Unlike other medical professions such as physical therapists, podiatrists, nurses, etc., the health care class (AMA) will not protect us. We must be in the game.
The most common condition affecting the shoulder is rotator-cuff disease. From acute tears to chronic tendinopathy, it’s common and needs a thorough workup. In fact, even asymptomatic shoulders can have full-thickness rotator-cuff rears in up to 40% of instances. Let’s look at additional conditions that can present to the office with weakness, loss of motion and pain in the shoulder beyond rotator-cuff tears.
