Procedural skills in spinal manipulation: do prerequisites matter?

Background Context: Spinal manipulation has undergone a resurgence of interest. Developing evidence suggests a relationship between safety, skill and clinical outcome. Training programs are variable and range from extensive formalized curricula to weekend seminars and individual demonstrations.

Evaluation of transforaminal ligaments by magnetic resonance imaging.

Objectives: Three-part study to (1) identify and describe transforaminal ligaments (TFLs), (2) determine the best low-field-strength magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique for TFLs, and (3) determine the ability of low-field-strength MRI to obtain images of TFLs.

Design: Part I-descriptive anatomic study; part II-descriptive MRI study; part III-blinded comparison of diagnostic test against gold standard (MRI vs anatomic dissection).

Setting: Chiropractic college gross anatomy laboratory and MRI facilities.