New Tools to Diagnose and Manage LBP

The Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research has developed diagnostic and management tools for doctors of chiropractic and other health professionals to assist in the management of low back pain. PCCR researchers "synthesized current research to help practitioners use research findings" in three articles published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) that "propose an evidence-based diagnostic checklist for low-back pain, offer a clinical management decision aid, and recommend consistent terminology use among professionals."

Robert Vining, DC, DHSc, associate dean of clinical research at the PCCR, explained the rationale behind the new tools: "Back pain is often complex, with sometimes overlapping causes. Few good diagnostic tests are available, making diagnosis difficult. People suffering similar symptoms can have completely different conditions. Also, research findings are sometimes difficult for practitioners to interpret and use."

All three articles are available online in their entirety on the JMPT website, with corresponding videos that explain key findings:

• "Development of an Evidence-Based Practical Diagnostic Checklist and Corresponding Clinical Exam for Low Back Pain": The diagnostic checklist contains individual diagnostic categories containing evidence-based criteria, applicable examination procedures, and checkboxes to record clinical findings. The checklist organizes and displays evidence for or against a working diagnosis. Click here to read in full
  


• "Development of a Clinical Decision Aid for Chiropractic Management of Common Conditions Causing Low Back Pain in Veterans: Result of a Consensus Process": This study group produced a chiropractic clinical decision aid for LBP management, which can be used to support evidence-based care decisions for veterans with LBP. Click here to read in full
  


• "Current Evidence for Diagnosis of Common Conditions Causing Low Back Pain: Systematic Review and Standardized Terminology Recommendations": The absence of high-quality, objective, gold-standard diagnostic methods limits the accuracy of current evidence-based criteria and results in few high-quality studies with a low risk of bias in patient selection and reference standard diagnosis. These limitations suggest practitioners should use evidence-based criteria to inform working diagnoses rather than definitive diagnoses for low back pain. Click here to read in full