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FCER News Release
For Immediate Release: March 16, 2007
Contact:
Robin R. Merrifield
380 Wright Road, Norwalk, IA 50211 USA
Phone:
800-343-0549 or 360-471-7837
Fax:
360-478-0834 E-mail: FCERedit@aol.com
FCER Funds Study on
Maintenance Care
Norwalk, Iowa—Thanks to generous
support from the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE), the
Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research is pleased to announce
the funding of one of the first studies on the effectiveness of chiropractic
care for the prevention of chronic cervical pain.
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Title: Preventive Care of
Chronic Cervical Pain and Disabilities: Comparison of Spinal Manipulative
Therapy and Individualized Home Exercise Programs
Principal Investigator: Martin Descarreaux, D.C., Ph.D.
To be conducted at Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres
Although tertiary preventive
(maintenance) care is commonly practiced by chiropractors with 95%1 of
American chiropractors believing that such care will minimize the
recurrence or exacerbation of pain and symptoms, there is at present very
little research to directly support this assertion. This proposal seeks to
address this problem by determining whether a preventive regime of spinal
manipulation, or a home exercise program, a combination of approaches, or
doing nothing following a period of intensive chiropractic care is the
more efficient approach to reduce pain and increase functional capacity,
quality of life, and the general health condition of patients initially
complaining of chronic cervical pain.
This study will involve 105
patients who first receive 15 chiropractic adjustments using the
diversified technique over a 5-week period. They are then passed into a
second phase of the program which lasts 45 weeks by being randomly
allocated into (i) a no-treatment group, (ii) a group receiving 15
additional chiropractic manipulations 3 weeks apart; and (iii)
manipulation plus home exercise group of 10-15 minutes on a daily basis.
Time spent with all 3 experimental groups will be equalized to eliminate
attention bias as a possible confounding factor of results. Outcomes to be
monitored will include pain (visual analog scale), disability (neck
disability index), quality of life (SF-36), postural analysis, and various
psychological measures (Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory,
Yale-Brown Obsessive-compulsive scale, Trail Making Test, Stroop Test), in
addition to maximal strength in extension, flexion and lateral flexion,
active range of motion in 3 planes, and a kinematic analysis of head
movement. All readings are to be conducted at baseline, second, and final
evaluation. Exercises will include submaximal isometric and one dynamic
contraction of the neck muscles with given rest periods between
contractions.
As FCER works to provide the
chiropractic profession and its practitioners with the tools to apply
evidence to practice through the creation of the Evidence-Based Chiropractic
Resource Center (EB-CRC), the focus on the funding of new research projects
and promising young researchers has not been lost. In fact, one purpose of
the EB-CRC is to improve communication between the research community and
those whose livelihoods are most affected by the results—the chiropractic
clinician. With limited funding available for chiropractic research, it is
important that the research conducted meets the needs of the practitioners
and all who work in their behalf.
For more information on FCER, it’s funded projects and Fellows, the EB-CRC,
and the other programs available to benefit the practicing Doctor of
Chiropractic, please visit www.fcer.org.
NCBE is dedicated to promoting excellence in the chiropractic profession.
For more information on NBCE, its history, and testing information, please
go to www.nbce.org.
Reference:
1. Rupert RL. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics.
January 2000; Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 1-9.
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