Henrik Wulff Christensen

Is there a role for premanipulative testing before cervical manipulation

BACKGROUND Spinal manipulative therapy is used millions of times every year to relieve symptoms from biomechanic dysfunction of the cervical spine. Concern about cerebrovascular accidents after cervical manipulative therapy is common but rarely reported. Premanipulative tests of the vertebral artery are presumed to identify patients at risk but controversy exists about their usefulness. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine vertebral artery blood flow in patients with a positive premanipulative test for contraindication to spinal manipulative therapy and to investigate if chiropractors would reconsider treating such patients if dynamic vascular Doppler examination was normal. DESIGN AND SETTING A prospective study at a university hospital vascular laboratory. METHODS Chiropractors in private practice from 3 Danish counties referred patients with a positive premanipulative test for an examination of vertebral artery blood flow. Premanipulative testing was performed by an experienced chiropractor. Flow velocities were measured in both vertebral arteries by color duplex sonography. In addition, chiropractors were asked if they would treat their patient despite a positive premanipulative test if the vascular ultrasound examination was normal. RESULTS A total of 20 consecutive patients with a positive premanipulative test were referred. Five were excluded because symptoms could not be reproduced during the vascular examination. In the remaining patients, no significant difference in peak flow velocity or time-averaged mean flow velocity with different head positions was found. Nineteen of 21 chiropractors would treat a patient with a positive premanipulative test if the vascular examination was normal. Eight of the patients with a positive manipulative test were treated without complications. Six are now symptom-free, and 2 have improved symptoms. The remaining 8 patients refused manipulation and continue to have the same symptoms. CONCLUSION It appears that a positive premanipulative test is not an absolute contraindication to manipulation of the cervical spine. If the test is able to identify patients at risk for cerebrovascular accidents, we suggest patients with a reproducible positive test should be referred for a duplex examination of the vertebral artery flow. If duplex flow is normal, the patient should be eligible for cervical manipulation despite the positive premanipulative test.

Chest Pain in Focal Musculoskeletal Disorders

The musculoskeletal system is a recognized source of chest pain. However, despite the apparently benign origin, patients with musculoskeletal chest pain remain under-diagnosed, untreated, and potentially continuously disabled in terms of anxiety, depression, and activities of daily living. Several overlapping conditions and syndromes of focal disorders, including Tietze syndrome, costochondritis, chest wall syndrome, muscle tenderness, slipping rib, cervical angina, and segmental dysfunction of the cervical and thoracic spine, have been reported to cause pain. For most of these syndromes, evidence arises mainly from case stories and empiric knowledge. For segmental dysfunction, clinical features of musculoskeletal chest pain have been characterized in a few clinical trials. This article summarizes the most commonly encountered syndromes of focal musculoskeletal disorders in clinical practice.

Vertebral artery volume flow in human beings

BACKGROUND A number of studies have investigated vertebral artery flow velocity. Because perfusion relates to the volume of blood flowing through the vessel, this parameter is of great importance when vertebral artery hemodynamics are investigated. We could not find any such Doppler studies in the literature, possibly because of known errors with previous techniques. New advanced color-coded duplex sonography has since been validated and may be used with confidence for volume flow investigations. OBJECTIVE To use advanced color-coded duplex sonography to investigate volume flow through the vertebral arteries during cervical rotation, as well as before and after spinal manipulation therapy. DESIGN AND SETTING A randomized controlled study at a university hospital vascular laboratory. PARTICIPANTS Twenty university students. RESULTS Volume blood flow through the vertebral arteries does not change with cervical rotation or after spinal manipulation therapy. CONCLUSION This appears to be the first in vivo Doppler study on human vertebral artery volume blood flow. Our results indicate that in symptom-free subjects there is no change in vertebral artery perfusion during rotation in spite of significant changes in flow velocity. This finding, as well as the observed changes in flow velocity reported by others, may be explained by a positional change in the vertebral artery diameter. In addition, we have investigated volume blood flow in the vertebral arteries before or after spinal manipulation therapy but found no significant changes.

The ability to reproduce the neutral zero position of the head

OBJECTIVE To determine how precisely asymptomatic subjects can reproduce a neutral zero position of the head. STUDY DESIGN Repeated measures of the active cervical neutral zero position. SETTING Institute of Medical Biology (Center of Biomechanics) at Odense University. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-eight asymptomatic students from the University of Odense, male/female ratio 20:18 and mean age 24.3 years (range, 20 to 30 years). INTERVENTION Measurements of the location of the neutral zero head position by use of the electrogoniometer CA-6000 Spine Motion Analyzer. Each subjects neutral zero position with eyes closed was measured 3 times. The device gives the localization of the neutral zero as coordinates in 3 dimensions (x, v, z) corresponding to the 3 motion planes. RESULTS The mean difference from neutral zero in 3 motion planes was found to be 2.7 degrees in the sagittal plane, 1.0 degree in the horizontal plane, and 0.65 degree in the frontal plane. CONCLUSION We found that young adult asymptomatic subjects are very good at reproducing the neutral zero position of the head. This suggests the existence of some advanced neurologic control mechanisms.

Precision and accuracy of an electrogoniometer

BACKGROUND Spinal range of motion has been studied by use of a variety of different methods. One electrogoniometer has been used as a noninvasive, reliable, and accurate method. The accuracy and precision of this device has not been sufficiently documented. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the precision and accuracy of an electrogoniometer in comparison with two manual protractors. STUDY DESIGN This study investigated the precision and accuracy of an electrogoniometer (OSI CA 6000). METHODS The precision and accuracy of the electrogoniometer were determined by a series of tests against two manual protractors. Six different movement directions were tested and 4 or 5 different angles for a given movement direction were evaluated. RESULTS The precision of the electrogoniometer was found to be +/- 0.1 degree for 4 different angles (10 degrees, 20 degrees, 40 degrees, and 60 degrees) in 6 different movement directions (flexion, extension, left lateral flexion, right lateral flexion, left rotation, and right rotation). The accuracy was tested by comparing both manual protractors with the electrogoniometer. Substantial disagreement for 27 of 28 datasets was found. In only one dataset was there agreement between the two manual protractors and the electrogoniometer. The mean differences were in the interval 2.0% to 11.5% between the electrogoniometer and the protractors. CONCLUSION The electrogoniometer evaluated has a very high precision when range of motion measurements are made. However, the accuracy of the device is less than acceptable.

Vertebral artery flow and cervical manipulation: An experimental study☆

BACKGROUND Spinal manipulation therapy is used by millions of patients each year to relieve symptoms caused by biomechanical dysfunction of the spine. Cerebrovascular accidents in the posterior cerebral circulation are a feared complication, but little research has been done on vertebral artery hemodynamics during cervical manipulation. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to develop an experimental model for investigations of volume blood flow changes in the vertebral arteries during premanipulative testing of these vessels and during spinal manipulation therapy of the cervical spine. DESIGN AND SETTING An experimental study in a university biomedical laboratory. MATERIAL AND METHODS The vertebral arteries were exposed in 8 adult pigs after extensive mediastinal dissection. Volume blood flow was measured on both sides simultaneously by advanced transit-time flowmetry. RESULTS After cervical manipulation, the vertebral artery volume blood flow increased significantly for 40 seconds before returning to baseline values in less than 3 minutes. We found no significant changes in volume flow during premanipulative testing of the vertebral arteries (DeKleyns test). CONCLUSION We present an experimental model for investigations of vertebral artery hemodynamics during biomechanical interventions. We found a modest and transient effect of cervical manipulation on vertebral artery volume flow. The model may have further applications in future biomechanical research, for example, to determine whether any of several spinal manipulative techniques imposes less strain on the vertebral artery, thereby reducing possible future cerebrovascular accidents after such treatment.

Chiropractic Treatment vs Self-Management in Patients With Acute Chest Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Patients Without Acute Coronary Syndrome

OBJECTIVE The musculoskeletal system is a common but often overlooked cause of chest pain. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the relative effectiveness of 2 treatment approaches for acute musculoskeletal chest pain: (1) chiropractic treatment that included spinal manipulation and (2) self-management as an example of minimal intervention. METHODS In a nonblinded, randomized, controlled trial set at an emergency cardiology department and 4 outpatient chiropractic clinics, 115 consecutive patients with acute chest pain and no clear medical diagnosis at initial presentation were included. After a baseline evaluation, patients with musculoskeletal chest pain were randomized to 4 weeks of chiropractic treatment or self-management, with posttreatment questionnaire follow-up 4 and 12 weeks later. Primary outcome measures were numeric change in pain intensity (11-point box numerical rating scale) and self-perceived change in pain (7-point ordinal scale). RESULTS Both groups experienced decreases in pain, self-perceived positive changes, and increases in Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36-Item Health Survey scores. Observed between-group significant differences were in favor of chiropractic treatment at 4 weeks regarding the primary outcome of self-perceived change in chest pain and at 12 weeks with respect to the primary outcome of numeric change in pain intensity. CONCLUSIONS To the best of our knowledge, this is the first randomized trial assessing chiropractic treatment vs minimal intervention in patients without acute coronary syndrome but with musculoskeletal chest pain. Results suggest that chiropractic treatment might be useful; but further research in relation to patient selection, standardization of interventions, and identification of potentially active ingredients is needed.

Reproducibility of range of motion and muscle strength measurements in patients with hip osteoarthritis – an inter-rater study

BackgroundAssessment of range of motion (ROM) and muscle strength is fundamental in the clinical diagnosis of hip osteoarthritis (OA) but reproducibility of these measurements has mostly involved clinicians from secondary care and has rarely reported agreement parameters. Therefore, the primary objective of the study was to determine the inter-rater reproducibility of ROM and muscle strength measurements. Furthermore, the reliability of the overall assessment of clinical hip OA was evaluated. Reporting is in accordance with proposed guidelines for the reporting of reliability and agreement studies (GRRAS).MethodsIn a university hospital, four blinded raters independently examined patients with unilateral hip OA; two hospital orthopaedists independently examined 48 (24 men) patients and two primary care chiropractors examined 61 patients (29 men). ROM was measured in degrees (deg.) with a standard two-arm goniometer and muscle strength in Newton (N) using a hand-held dynamometer. Reproducibility is reported as agreement and reliability between paired raters of the same profession. Agreement is reported as limits of agreement (LoA) and reliability is reported with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Reliability of the overall assessment of clinical OA is reported as weighted kappa.ResultsBetween orthopaedists, agreement for ROM ranged from LoA [-28–12 deg.] for internal rotation to [-8–13 deg.] for extension. ICC ranged between 0.53 and 0.73, highest for flexion. For muscle strength between orthopaedists, LoA ranged from [-65–47N] for external rotation to [-10 –59N] for flexion. ICC ranged between 0.52 and 0.85, highest for abduction. Between chiropractors, agreement for ROM ranged from LoA [-25–30 deg.] for internal rotation to [-13–21 deg.] for flexion. ICC ranged between 0.14 and 0.79, highest for flexion. For muscle strength between chiropractors, LoA ranged between [-80–20N] for external rotation to [-146–55N] for abduction. ICC ranged between 0.38 and 0.81, highest for flexion. Weighted kappa for the overall assessment of clinical hip OA was 0.52 between orthopaedists and 0.65 between chiropractors.ConclusionsReproducibility of goniometric and dynamometric measurements of ROM and muscle strength in patients with hip OA is poor between experienced orthopaedists and between experienced chiropractors. Orthopaedists and chiropractors can to a moderate degree differentiate between hips with or without osteoarthritis.

High probability of disease in angina pectoris patients: Is clinical estimation reliable?

BACKGROUND According to most current guidelines, stable angina pectoris patients with a high probability of having coronary artery disease can be reliably identified clinically. OBJECTIVES To examine the reliability of clinical evaluation with or without an at-rest electrocardiogram (ECG) in patients with a high probability of coronary artery disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS A prospective series of 357 patients referred for coronary angiography (CA) for suspected stable angina pectoris were examined by a trained physician who judged their type of pain and Canadian Cardiovascular Society grade of pain. Pretest likelihood of disease was estimated, and all patients underwent myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) followed by CA an average of 78 days later. For analysis, the investigators focused on the approximate groups of patients with more severe disease, ie, typical angina (n=187), Canadian Cardiovascular Society grade 2 pain or higher (n=176) or high (higher than 85%) estimated pretest likelihood of disease (n=142). RESULTS In the three groups, 34% to 39% of male patients and 65% to 69% of female patients had normal MPS, while 37% to 38% and 60% to 71%, respectively, had insignificant findings on CA. Of the patients who had also an abnormal at-rest ECG, 14% to 21% of men and 42% to 57% of women had normal MPS. Sex-related differences were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Clinical prediction appears to be unreliable. Addition of at-rest ECG data results in some improvement, particularly in male patients, but it makes the high probability groups so small that the addition appears to be of limited clinical relevance.

Diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal chest pain: design of a multi-purpose trial.

BackgroundAcute chest pain is a major health problem all over the western world. Active approaches are directed towards diagnosis and treatment of potentially life threatening conditions, especially acute coronary syndrome/ischemic heart disease. However, according to the literature, chest pain may also be due to a variety of extra-cardiac disorders including dysfunction of muscles and joints of the chest wall or the cervical and thoracic part of the spine. The diagnostic approaches and treatment options for this group of patients are scarce and formal clinical studies addressing the effect of various treatments are lacking.Methods/DesignWe present an ongoing trial on the potential usefulness of chiropractic diagnosis and treatment in patients dismissed from an acute chest pain clinic without a diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome. The aims are to determine the proportion of patients in whom chest pain may be of musculoskeletal rather than cardiac origin and to investigate the decision process of a chiropractor in diagnosing these patients; further, to examine whether chiropractic treatment can reduce pain and improve physical function when compared to advice directed towards promoting self-management, and, finally, to estimate the cost-effectiveness of these procedures. This study will include 300 patients discharged from a university hospital acute chest pain clinic without a diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome or any other obvious cardiac or non-cardiac disease. After completion of the clinics standard cardiovascular diagnostic procedures, trial patients will be examined according to a standardized protocol including a) a self-report questionnaire; b) a semi-structured interview; c) a general health examination; and d) a specific manual examination of the muscles and joints of the neck, thoracic spine, and thorax in order to determine whether the pain is likely to be of musculoskeletal origin. To describe the patients status with regards to ischemic heart disease, and to compare and indirectly validate the musculoskeletal diagnosis, myocardial perfusion scintigraphy is performed in all patients 2–4 weeks following discharge. Descriptive statistics including parametric and non-parametric methods will be applied in order to compare patients with and without musculoskeletal chest pain in relation to their scintigraphic findings. The decision making process of the chiropractor will be elucidated and reconstructed using the CART method. Out of the 300 patients 120 intended patients with suspected musculoskeletal chest pain will be randomized into one of two groups: a) a course of chiropractic treatment (therapy group) of up to ten treatment sessions focusing on high velocity, low amplitude manipulation of the cervical and thoracic spine, mobilisation, and soft tissue techniques. b) Advice promoting self-management and individual instructions focusing on posture and muscle stretch (advice group). Outcome measures are pain, physical function, overall health, self-perceived treatment effect, and cost-effectiveness.DiscussionThis study may potentially demonstrate that a chiropractor is able to identify a subset of patients suffering from chest pain predominantly of musculoskeletal origin among patients discharged from an acute chest pain clinic with no apparent cardiac condition. Furthermore knowledge about the benefits of manual treatment of patients with musculoskeletal chest pain will inform clinical decision and policy development in relation to clinical practice.Trial registrationNCT00462241 and NCT00373828