ArticleChiropractic & manual therapies2020
Potential mechanisms for lumbar spinal stiffness change following spinal manipulative therapy: a scoping review.
Article in Chiropractic & manual therapies, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effects of Manual Therapy Applied to the Cervical Region on Balance and Proprioception in Patients With Nonspesific Neck Pain: A Randomised Placebo Controlled Study
Effects of Lumbar Spinal Manipulation on Muscle Mechanical Properties, Pressure Pain Threshold and Mechanical Perception Threshold in Subjects With Chronic Low Back Pain
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review on biomechanical effects of high-velocity, low amplitude spinal manipulation.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Evaluation of lumbar segmental motion using ultrasound imaging following common joint mobilization techniques.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2025Trial
- From mechanotransduction to manual therapy: advances in piezo/TRP channels and lumbar degeneration.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Review
- The relation between bulk (external) and internal measures of spinal stiffness.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2025Article
- Categorizing Treatment Mechanisms for Complementary and Integrative Musculoskeletal Interventions.International journal of osteopathic medicine : IJOM · 2025Article
- The mechanisms of manual therapy: A living review of systematic, narrative, and scoping reviews.PloS one · 2025Article
- Factors that contribute to the perceived treatment effect of spinal manipulative therapy in a chiropractic teaching clinic: a qualitative study.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2024Article
- An investigation of neurological and/or biomechanical factors underpinning the effect of a thrust manipulation on chronic ankle symptoms: an observational study.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2024Observational
- Spinal manipulation and mobilization forces delivered treating sciatica: a case report.Frontiers in integrative neuroscience · 2024Article
- Fascia Tissue Manipulations in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Pragmatic Comparative Randomized Clinical Trial of the 4xT MethodLife (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- A consensus approach toward the standardization of spinal stiffness measurement using a loaded rolling wheel device: results of a Delphi study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionIn individuals having low back pain, the application of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) has been shown to reduce spinal stiffness in those who report improvements in post-SMT disability. The underlying mechanism for this rapid change in stiffness is not understood presently. As clinicians and patients may benefit from a better understanding of this mechanism in terms of optimizing care delivery, the objective of this scoping review of current literature was to identify if potential mechanisms that explain this clinical response have been previously described or could be elucidated from existing data.
methodsThree literature databases were systematically searched (MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PubMed). Our search terms included subject headings and keywords relevant to SMT, spinal stiffness, lumbar spine, and mechanism. Inclusion criteria for candidate studies were publication in English, quantification of lumbar spinal stiffness before and after SMT, and publication between January 2000 and June 2019.
resultsThe search identified 1931 articles. Of these studies, 10 were included following the application of the inclusion criteria. From these articles, 7 themes were identified with respect to potential mechanisms described or derived from data: 1) change in muscle activity; 2) increase in mobility; 3) decrease in pain; 4) increase in pressure pain threshold; 5) change in spinal tissue behavior; 6) change in the central nervous system or reflex pathways; and 7) correction of a vertebral dysfunction.
conclusionsThis scoping review identified 7 themes put forward by authors to explain changes in spinal stiffness following SMT. Unfortunately, none of the studies provided data which would support the promotion of one theme over another. As a result, this review suggests a need to develop a theoretical framework to explain rapid biomechanical changes following SMT to guide and prioritize future investigations in this important clinical area.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.