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Lower Back PainPhase 1NCT00070902

Using MRI Scans to Evaluate Spinal Manipulation

A Phase 1 study testing Lumbar side-posture spinal adjusting in people with Lower Back Pain, run by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Lumbar spinal manipulation, or chiropractic adjusting, is thought to separate the surfaces of the spinal joints and thereby relieve lower back pain. This study will use MRI scans to evaluate the spinal joints before and after spinal manipulation. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 21 to 29 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Lower Back Pain
What is being tested?
Lumbar side-posture spinal adjusting
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
How many people
64 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Jun 2000to Oct 2002
Phase
Phase 1
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 21 to 29 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Student at the National University of Health Sciences
  • 185 pounds or less for males and 145 pounds or less for females
  • No previous history of lower back pain lasting more than 2 weeks, or no more than three episodes of back pain of brief duration (1 to 2 weeks) in any given year

Who cannot join

  • History of lower back pain
  • Presence of disc degeneration, significant osteoarthritis, scoliosis of greater than 20 degrees (Cobb's angle), or other significant pathology seen on x-rays
  • Positive findings on orthopedic or neurologic test
  • Pregnancy
  • Inability of the examining chiropractor to obtain articular releases (audible pop) during lumbar side posture adjustment given at the conclusion of the examination

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • National University of Health Sciences

    Lombard, Illinois, 60148

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: The Effects of Positioning and Adjusting on the Z Joint

Lumbar spinal manipulation, or chiropractic adjusting, is thought to separate the surfaces of the spinal joints and thereby relieve lower back pain. This study will use MRI scans to evaluate the spinal joints before and after spinal manipulation.

Read the detailed description

Zygapophysial joints, better known as facet or "Z" joints, are located on the back (posterior) of the spine on each side of the vertebrae where it overlaps the neighboring vertebrae. Z joints provide stability and allow the spine to bend and twist. Adhesions in the Z joints may develop following hypomobility of vertebrae. These adhesions may be alleviated by separation (gapping) of the Z joints.

Side posture adjusting (spinal manipulation) is thought by many to gap the Z joints, yet no measurable differences of the Z joints before and after spinal manipulation have ever been published. This study will evaluate gapping of the L3/L4, L4/L5, and L5/S1 Z joints by taking measurements directly from MRI scans of the Z joints before and during positioning for a side posture adjustment, and before and after side posture adjusting.

Health volunteers will be randomly assigned to one of four groups: 1) neutral position followed by side posture positioning (trunk rotated to the volunteer's right); 2) neutral position followed by side posture spinal adjusting followed by neutral positioning; 3) neutral position followed by side posture spinal adjusting, followed by side posture positioning; and 4) neutral position followed by neutral position (control group). MRI scans will be taken with the volunteers in the original neutral position and in the final position (either second neutral position or side posture positioning).

Conditions
Lower Back Pain
Being tested
Lumbar side-posture spinal adjusting
Keywords
Spinal Manipulation, Chiropractic, Zygapophysial Joints
Medical subject headings
Low Back Pain

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Lumbar side-posture spinal adjustingProcedure or surgery

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted13 Oct 2003 (estimated)
  2. Study startJun 2000
  3. Study completionOct 2002

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Double blind
Enrolment
64 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00070902
Sponsor's protocol ID
R01AT000123-01
Status last verified
Aug 2006
First submitted
9 Oct 2003
Last updated
18 Aug 2006
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Cramer GD, Gregerson DM, Knudsen JT, Hubbard BB, Ustas LM, Cantu JA. The effects of side-posture positioning and spinal adjusting on the lumbar Z joints: a randomized controlled trial with sixty-four subjects. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2002 Nov 15;27(22):2459-66. doi: 10.1097/00007632-200211150-00008.

    PubMed 12435975
  • Cramer GD, Tuck NR Jr, Knudsen JT, Fonda SD, Schliesser JS, Fournier JT, Patel P. Effects of side-posture positioning and side-posture adjusting on the lumbar zygapophysial joints as evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging: a before and after study with randomization. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2000 Jul-Aug;23(6):380-94. doi: 10.1067/mmt.2000.108145.

    PubMed 10951308

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 1 study testing Lumbar side-posture spinal adjusting in people with Lower Back Pain, run by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 18 Aug 2006. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 1 studies test a treatment in a small group of people for the first time or in a new way, mainly to check safety and find the right dose.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00070902, which also lists 2 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 18 Aug 2006.

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