title: Is spinal manipulation effective for pain? An overview of systematic reviews.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article is aimed at critically evaluating the evidence from systematic reviews (SRs) of spinal manipulation in patients with pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was designed as a SR of SRs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four electronic databases were searched to identify all relevant articles of the effectiveness of spinal manipulation for pain. SRs were defined as articles employing a repeatable methods section.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-two SRs relating to the following pain conditions: low back pain (N = 6), headache (N = 5), neck pain (N = 4), any medical problem (N = 1), carpal tunnel syndrome (N = 1), dysmenorrhea (N = 1), fibromyalgia (N = 1), lateral epicondylitis (N = 1), musculoskeletal conditions (N = 1) and nonspinal pain (N = 1), were included. Positive or, for multiple SR, unanimously positive conclusions were drawn for none of the conditions mentioned earlier.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Publication bias as a well-known phenomenon may have been inherited in this article.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Collectively, these data fail to demonstrate that spinal manipulation is an effective intervention for pain management.
authors.affiliation: Paul.Posadzki@pcmd.ac.uk
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Posadzki
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D020393:Manipulation, Spinal; D010146:Pain / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome