Sometimes a graphic says it all.
This one illustrates research appearing in the February 2015 Spine magazine, “Comparison of Spinal Manipulation Methods and Usual Medical Care for Acute and Subacute Low Back Pain.”
The article notes that low back pain is one of the most common conditions seen in primary care and physical medicine practice. It describes a comparative effectiveness trial of 107 adults who received manual-thrust manipulation versus mechanical-assisted manipulation; and manipulation versus usual medical care.
The results: At week four, 56 of medical care recipients had a 30 percent reduction in low back pain, compared to 94 percent of manual thrust manipulation recipients.