Useful Information: Homeopathy doesn't mean Alternative Medicine

[pnwmom]

28. NIH funded research has shown that chiropractic manipulations

are an effective treatment for back pain.

And I saw it demonstrated before my eyes. My 15 year old son was in excruciating pain after a basketball practice. I took him to our pediatrician, but the only doc who could see him happened to be an osteopath. He asked my son a few questions and then did a couple things to him and -- in an instant -- all the pain disappeared. The same way my daughter's pain instantly disappeared when her displaced elbow got put back into place by her regular doctor. I said that what he did looked to me like what I thought chiropractors do (just from having heard about it -- I'd never been to one.) He acknowledged that the manipulations were the same, and said chiropractors got them from osteopaths.

He said that my son's pain was related to the fact that he was growing so fast, and so his spine had shifted out of alignment, and he gave him some exercises to do to try to develop his muscles in the area. The problem never happened again.

From the NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Center

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/spinalmanipulation

Spinal Manipulation

Spinal manipulation—sometimes called "spinal manipulative therapy"—is practiced by health care professionals such as chiropractors, osteopathic physicians, naturopathic physicians, physical therapists, and some medical doctors. Practitioners perform spinal manipulation by using their hands or a device to apply a controlled force to a joint of the spine. The amount of force applied depends on the form of manipulation used. The goal of the treatment is to relieve pain and improve physical functioning.

Research Spotlights

Spinal Manipulation’s Effects May Go Beyond Those of Placebo or Expectation, Study Finds
(10/27/13)
Determining the Optimal Number of Spinal Manipulation Sessions for Chronic Low-Back Pain
(10/16/13)
Spinal Manipulation or Home Exercise More Effective Than Medication for Acute Neck Pain, Study Finds
(01/03/12)
Review of CAM Practices for Back and Neck Pain Shows Modest Results
(10/01/10)

http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/102713

A recent clinical trial has added to knowledge about what goes on in the body and brain when people with chronic low-back pain receive spinal manipulation (also known as spinal manipulative therapy). The researchers found that spinal manipulation, compared with placebo and no treatment, significantly reduced pain sensitivity. They also reported there was support for a potential biological target to address central sensitization of pain, a phenomenon of heightened pain sensitivity that is linked with acute pain’s transition to chronic pain, and the persistence of chronic pain. The research, supported in part by NCCAM and the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, part of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, appeared in The Journal of Pain.