A united statement of the global chiropractic research community against the pseudoscientific claim that chiropractic care boosts immunity.

Background: In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) posted reports claiming that chiropractic care can impact the immune system. These claims clash with recommendations from the World Health Organization and World Federation of Chiropractic. We discuss the scientific validity of the claims made in these ICA reports.

Reliability of a new loaded rolling wheel system for measuring spinal stiffness in asymptomatic participants.

Background: Few, if any, patient reported symptoms have been shown to be related to objective measures of spine function. Recently, patient-reported measures of disability following spinal manipulative therapy have been associated with an immediate decrease in spinal stiffness obtained by instrumented L3 indentation. Given this novel relation, we anticipate that stiffness measures obtained from locations in addition to L3 may yield valuable information.

Research priorities of the Canadian chiropractic profession: a consensus study using a modified Delphi technique.

Background: Research funds are limited and a healthcare profession that supports research activity should establish research priority areas. The study objective was to identify research priority areas for the Canadian chiropractic profession, and for stakeholders in the chiropractic profession to rank these in order of importance.

Methods: We conducted a modified Delphi consensus study between August 2015 and May 2017 to determine the views of Canadian chiropractic organisations (e.

Criterion validity of manual assessment of spinal stiffness.

Assessment of spinal stiffness is widely used by manual therapy practitioners as a part of clinical diagnosis and treatment selection. Although studies have commonly found poor reliability of such procedures, conflicting evidence suggests that assessment of spinal stiffness may help predict response to specific treatments. The current study evaluated the criterion validity of manual assessments of spinal stiffness by comparing them to indentation measurements in patients with low back pain (LBP).

The effect of application site of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) on spinal stiffness.

Background Context: Like other factors that can influence treatment efficacy (eg, dosage, frequency, time of day), the site of treatment application is known to affect various physical interventions such as topical anesthetics and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Like these examples, spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) is a physical intervention that may exhibit maximal benefit when directed to a specific site. Whereas numerous studies of SMT efficacy have produced mixed results, few studies have taken into account the site of SMT application.

Reliability of 2 ultrasonic imaging analysis methods in quantifying lumbar multifidus thickness.

Study Design: Reliability study.

Objectives: To compare the within- and between-day intrarater reliability of rehabilitative ultrasound imaging (RUSI) using static images (static RUSI) and video clips (video RUSI) to quantify multifidus muscle thickness at rest and while contracted. Secondary objectives were to compare the measurement precision of averaging multiple measures and to estimate reliability in individuals with and without low back pain (LBP).

Association between history and physical examination factors and change in lumbar multifidus muscle thickness after spinal manipulation in patients with low back pain.

Understanding the clinical characteristics of patients with low back pain (LBP) who display improved lumbar multifidus (LM) muscle function after spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) may provide insight into a potentially synergistic interaction between SMT and exercise. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the baseline historical and physical examination factors associated with increased contracted LM muscle thickness one week after SMT. Eighty-one participants with LBP underwent a baseline physical examination and ultrasound imaging assessment of the LM muscle during submaximal contraction before and one week after SMT.

Association between changes in abdominal and lumbar multifidus muscle thickness and clinical improvement after spinal manipulation.

Study Design: Prospective case series.

Objective: To examine the relation between improved disability and changes in abdominal and lumbar multifidus (LM) thickness using ultrasound imaging following spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) in patients with low back pain (LBP).

Background: Although there is a growing body of literature demonstrating physiologic effects following the application of SMT, few studies have attempted to correlate these changes with clinically relevant outcomes.