Development of a standardized patient-reported clinical questionnaire for children with spinal pain.

Background: Spinal pain affects up to 30% of school-age children and can interfere with various aspects of daily life, such as school attendance, physical function, and social life. Current assessment tools often rely on parental reporting which limits our understanding of how each child is affected by their pain. This study aimed to address this gap by developing MySpineData-Kids ("MiRD-Kids"), a tailored patient-reported questionnaire focusing on children with spinal pain in secondary care (Danish hospital setting).

Healthcare Utilisation in Danish Primary Care Among Patients With Low Back or Neck/Thoracic Spine Pain Before and After Assessment in Secondary Care.

Objectives: To describe characteristics and primary healthcare utilisation in Danish patients with low back pain (LBP) or neck/thoracic spine pain (NTP) 8 years before and 2 years after assessment in secondary care.

Methods: In this cohort study, we included patients aged ≥ 18 who were assessed at an outpatient spine clinic from 2013 to 2021 and linked self-reported information with national registry data. We calculated the prevalence of all-cause healthcare utilisation in primary care.

The association between students' confidence and ability to modulate spinal manipulation force-time characteristics of specific target forces: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) is a guideline-recommended care for musculoskeletal pain taught in various undergraduate programs. Visual feedback through force-sensing tables can improve modulation of SMT force-time characteristics and, potentially, students' confidence, both factors important for clinical competence and patient outcomes. However, it is unclear if a link exists between students' confidence and ability in SMT force-time modulation.

Mechanisms of manipulation: a systematic review of the literature on immediate anatomical structural or positional changes in response to manually delivered high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulation.

Background: Spinal manipulation (SM) has been claimed to change anatomy, either in structure or position, and that these changes may be the cause of clinical improvements. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate and synthesise the peer-reviewed literature on the current evidence of anatomical changes in response to SM.

Methods: The review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022304971) and reporting was guided by the standards of the PRISMA Statement.

Exploring the association between patient-drawn pain diagrams and psychological and physical health variables: A large-scale study of patients with low back pain.

Background: Despite the use of Patient-Drawn Pain Drawings (PDPDs) in clinical settings, their validity as indicators of psychological distress remains debated. We aimed to assess the association between PDPD areas and physical health and psychological variables.

Methods: This study analysed digitally-drawn PDPDs from 15,345 chronic low back pain (LBP) patients at a Danish outpatient hospital unit.

Long-term Trajectories of Low Back Pain in Older Men: A Prospective Cohort Study With 10-Year Analysis of the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study.

Although low back pain (LBP) may persist or recur over time, few studies have evaluated the individual course of LBP over a long-term period, particularly among older adults. Based on data from the longitudinal Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study, we aimed to identify and describe different LBP trajectories in older men and characterize members in each trajectory group. A total of 5 976 community-dwelling men (mean age = 74.

Static palpation ain't easy: Evaluating palpation precision using a topographical map of the lumbar spine as a reference.

Introduction: Clinicians commonly use manual therapy to treat low back pain by palpating the spine to identify the spinous processes. This study aims to evaluate the ability of experienced clinicians to consistently locate the spinous processes from S1 to T12 through palpation. The results will be compared to topographical data representing the lumbar lordosis at baseline and four follow-up time points.

Patient satisfaction with clinical services provided by chiropractic students under supervision compared to licensed chiropractors: An observational study.

Objective: This study investigated patient satisfaction with care provided by chiropractic students under supervision vs supervisors in a Danish hospital setting.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational study of patient satisfaction was conducted at the Spine Center of Southern Denmark, where chiropractic students from the University of Southern Denmark complete an 8-week internship in their final year of pregraduate training. Patients were assigned to students or supervisors based on administrative convenience (ie, natural allocation).

Waste not, want not: call to action for spinal manipulative therapy researchers.

Background: Research waste is defined as research outcomes with no or minimal societal benefits. It is a widespread problem in the healthcare field. Four primary sources of research waste have been defined: (1) irrelevant or low priority research questions, (2) poor design or methodology, (3) lack of publication, and (4) biased or inadequate reporting.

Data-driven identification of distinct pain drawing patterns and their association with clinical and psychological factors: a study of 21,123 patients with spinal pain.

The variability in pain drawing styles and analysis methods has raised concerns about the reliability of pain drawings as a screening tool for nonpain symptoms. In this study, a data-driven approach to pain drawing analysis has been used to enhance the reliability. The aim was to identify distinct clusters of pain patterns by using latent class analysis (LCA) on 46 predefined anatomical areas of a freehand digital pain drawing.

Association of back pain with all-cause and cause-specific mortality among older men: a cohort study.

Objective: We evaluated whether more severe back pain phenotypes-persistent, frequent, or disabling back pain-are associated with higher mortality rate among older men.

Methods: In this secondary analysis of a prospective cohort, the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) study, we evaluated mortality rates by back pain phenotype among 5215 older community-dwelling men (mean age, 73 years, SD = 5.6) from 6 sites in the United States.

Prospective Back Pain Trajectories or Retrospective Recall-Which Tells Us Most About the Patient?

In patients with low back pain (LBP), a visually identified retrospective pain trajectory often mismatches with a trajectory derived from prospective repeated measures. To gain insight into the clinical relevance of the 2 trajectory types, we investigated which showed a higher association with clinical outcomes. Participants were 724 adults seeking care for LBP in Danish chiropractic primary care.

A new role for spinal manual therapy and for chiropractic? Part II: strengths and opportunities.

In a previous paper, we presented some important weaknesses of and threats to the chiropractic profession as we see them. We further argued that the chiropractic profession's relationship with its principal clinical tool (spinal manual therapy) is at the core of the ideological divide that fractures the profession and prevents professional development towards greater integration in the healthcare landscape. In this manuscript, we shall argue that the historical predilection for spinal manipulation also gifts the profession with some obvious strengths and opportunities, and that these are inextricably linked to the management of musculoskeletal disorders.

A new role for spinal manual therapy and for chiropractic? Part I: weaknesses and threats.

Spinal manual therapy is central to chiropractic history, clinical practice, and professional identity. That chiropractors have developed an expertise in this domain has provided some considerable advantages. However, we contend it is also at the crux of the ideological schism that fractures the chiropractic profession.

Validation of a spring loaded probe for single and repeat pressure pain testing, including public domain specifications for design and manufacture.

Temporal summation of pressure pain is technically more challenging than simple pressure pain thresholds. The current study describes the design, manufacture and validation of a simple mechanical test apparatus to assess the temporal summation of deep pressure pain. We release design details into the public domain with the intention of providing free access for researchers especially in low income countries.

Patient and provider characteristics associated with therapeutic intervention selection in a chiropractic clinical encounter: a cross-sectional analysis of the COAST and O-COAST study data.

Background: Chiropractors use a variety of therapeutic interventions in clinical practice. How the selection of interventions differs across musculoskeletal regions or with different patient and provider characteristics is currently unclear. This study aimed to describe how frequently different interventions are used for patients presenting for chiropractic care, and patient and provider characteristics associated with intervention selection.

Presenters at chiropractic research conferences 2010-2019: is there a gender equity problem?

Background: Presenting at professional and scientific conferences can be an important part of an individual's career advancement, especially for researchers communicating scientific findings, and can signal expertise and leadership. Generally, women presenting at conferences are underrepresented in various science disciplines. We aimed to evaluate the gender of presenters at research-oriented chiropractic conferences from 2010 to 2019.

Spinal Manipulative Therapy for Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Does Targeting a Specific Vertebral Level Make a Difference?: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis.

We aimed to examine whether targeting spinal manipulative therapy (SMT), by applying the intervention to a specific vertebral level, produces superior clinical outcomes than a nontargeted approach in patients with nonspecific low back pain. Systematic review with meta-analysis. MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL, Scopus, PEDro, and Index to Chiropractic Literature were searched up to May 31, 2023.

The effectiveness of spinal manipulative therapy procedures for spine pain: protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: Spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) is a guideline-recommended treatment option for spinal pain. The recommendation is based on multiple systematic reviews. However, these reviews fail to consider that clinical effects may depend on SMT "application procedures" (i.

Multidisciplinary team-based management approach for secondary-care patients with severe and persistent low back pain: A mixed-method feasibility trial.

Background: Persistent and severe low back pain is challenging to treat. Multidisciplinary care with systematic follow-up may be more effective than usual care. However, such a model has yet to be developed and tested.

No effect of social interaction on experimental pain sensitivity: a randomized experimental study.

Quantitative sensory testing (QST) is a commonly applied paradigm to investigate pain, which is a subjective experience influenced by a myriad of social and contextual factors. Therefore, it is important to consider the potential sensitivity of QST to the test setting and the social interaction that naturally is a part of it. This may particularly be the case in clinical settings where patients have something at stake.

Do Visual Pain Trajectories Reflect the Actual Course of Low Back Pain? A Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Different trajectories of low back pain (LBP) have been identified prospectively using repeated measures. For these trajectories to inform clinical practice, they must be available in the clinical consultation. Therefore, identified LBP trajectories have been translated into visual pain trajectories (VPTs) that allow people with LBP, at the time of consult, to reflect upon their pain experience and identify the VPT that best categorizes their pain course.

Testing walking performance in patients with low back pain: will two minutes do instead of six minutes?

Purpose: The six-minute walk test (6MWT) can assess walking function but is time-consuming. We investigate the correlation of performance over the first two minutes of the 6MWT (2MWT#) and the 6MWT. We also evaluate the 2MWT#'s ability to predict 6MWT results, assess correlations to secondary explanatory outcomes, and assess the ability to discriminate between clinical subgroups.