title: Spinal manipulation: an update of a systematic review of systematic reviews.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this update is to critically evaluate the evidence for or against the effectiveness of spinal manipulation in patients with any type of clinical condition.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four electronic databases were searched to identify all relevant systematic reviews of the effectiveness of spinal manipulation in any condition published between 2005 and January 2011. Reviews were defined as systematic, if they included an explicit and repeatable inclusion and exclusion criteria for studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-five systematic reviews were included relating to the following conditions: low back pain (n=7), headache (n=6), neck pain (n=4), asthma (n=4), musculoskeletal conditions (n=3), any non-musculoskeletal conditions (n=2), fibromyalgia (n=2), infant colic (n=2), any medical problem (n=1), any paediatric conditions (n=1), carpal tunnel syndrome (n=1), cervicogenic dizziness (n=1), dysmenorrhoea (n=1), gastrointestinal problems (n=1), hypertension (n=1), idiopathic scoliosis (n=1), lateral epicondylitis (n=1), lower extremity conditions (n=1), pregnancy and related conditions (n=1), psychological outcome (n=1), shoulder pain (n=1), upper extremity conditions (n=1) and whiplash injury (n=1). Positive or, for multiple SR, unanimously positive conclusions were drawn for psychological outcomes (n=1) and whiplash (n=1).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Collectively these data fail to demonstrate convincingly that spinal manipulation is an effective intervention for any condition.
authors.affiliation: Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, 25 Victoria Park Road, Exeter EX2 4NT UK. Paul.Posadzki@pcmd.ac.uk
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Posadzki
authors.forename: Edzard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ernst
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D004244:Dizziness / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006261:Headache / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D020393:Manipulation, Spinal / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D009520:New Zealand; D011247:Pregnancy; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome