[Chronic low back pain and vertebral manipulation].
OBJECTIVE
This study examined the short-term effectiveness of vertebral manipulation for treating chronic low back pain and disability.


METHODS
Sixty-four patients were randomly assigned into two groups. One group received 4 true vertebral manipulations (VMG), and the other group received sham manipulations (sham-VMG) under the same conditions as for the first technique. Patients formulated assessments after the manipulations and 1 month later.


RESULTS
Sixty-four patients participated in the study. Patients receiving the true manipulations showed significant improvement in pain (visual analogic scale score decrease from 71.8+/-18.11 to 49.37+/-16.78; P<0.001) and function (Oswestry scale score decrease from 15.59+/-6.03 to 12.25+/-5.69; P<0.001). Pain improvement persisted at the second month (P=0.01). The improvement was more evident in the VMG than the sham-VMG. No change in perceived disability was observed in the sham-VMG.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study confirms the efficiency of short-term vertebral manipulation for treating chronic low back pain. The assessment of vertebral manipulation effectiveness is difficult. This manual therapy must be preceeded by a specific clinical exam performed by a trained physician.
Ghroubi
S
S
Service de médecine physique et réadaptation fonctionnelle de l'hôpital Habib-Bourguiba, université du Sud, 3000 Sfax, Tunisie.
Elleuch
H
H
Baklouti
S
S
Elleuch
M-H
MH
D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008349:Manipulation, Orthopedic; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011446:Prospective Studies