Prevalence of MRI Findings in the Cervical Spine in Patients with Persistent Neck Pain
Prevalence of MRI Findings in the Cervical Spine in Patients with Persistent Neck Pain Based on Quantification of Narrative MRI Reports
SOURCE: Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2019 (Mar 6); 27: 13
Rikke Krüger Jensen, Tue Secher Jensen, Søren Grøn, Erik Frafjord, Uffe Bundgaard, Anders Lynge Damsgaard, Jeppe Mølgaard Mathiasen and Per Kjaer
Nordic Institute of Chiropractic and Clinical Biomechanics,
Odense, Denmark
BACKGROUND Previous studies of patients with neck pain have reported a high variability in prevalence of MRI findings of disc degeneration, disc herniation etc. This is most likely due to small and heterogenous study populations. Reasons for only including small study samples could be the high cost and time-consuming procedures of having radiologists coding the MRIs. Other methods for extracting reliable imaging data should therefore be explored.
The objectives of this study were
1) to examine inter-rater reliability among a group of chiropractic master students in extracting information
about cervical MRI-findings from radiologists´ narrative reports, and
2) to describe the prevalence of MRI findings in the cervical spine among different age groups in patients above
age 18 with neck pain.
METHOD Adult patients with neck pain (with or without arm pain) seen in a public hospital department between 2011 and 2014 who had an MRI of the cervical spine were identified in the patient registry ‘SpineData’. MRI-findings were extracted and quantified from radiologists’ narrative reports by second-year chiropractic master students based on a set of coding rules for the process.
The inter-rater reliability was quantified with Kappa statistics and the prevalence of the MRI findings were calculated.
RESULTS In total, narrative MRI reports from 611 patients were included. The patients had a mean age of 52 years (SD 13; range 19–87) and 63% were women. The inter-observer agreement in coding MRI findings ranged from substantial (κ = 0.78, CI: 0.33–1.00) to almost perfect (κ = 0.98, CI: 0.95–1.00).
The most prevalent MRI findings were foraminal stenosis (77%), uncovertebral arthrosis (74%) and disc degeneration (67%) while the least prevalent findings were nerve root compromise (2%) and Modic changes type 2 (6%). Modic type 1 was mentioned in 25% of the radiologists’ reports. The prevalence of all findings increased with age, except disc herniation which was most prevalent for patients in their forties.
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Cost-effectiveness of Spinal Manipulative Therapy, Supervised Exercise, and Home Exercise for Older Adults with Chronic Neck Pain
Cost-effectiveness of Spinal Manipulative Therapy, Supervised Exercise, and Home Exercise for Older Adults with Chronic Neck Pain
SOURCE: Spine J. 2016 (Nov); 16 (11): 1292–1304
Brent Leininger, DC, MS, Christine McDonough, PT, PhD, Roni Evans, DC, MS, PhD, Tor Tosteson, ScD, Anna N.A. Tosteson, ScD, Gert Bronfort, DC, PhD
Integrative Health & Wellbeing Research Program,
Center for Spirituality & Healing,
University of Minnesota,
B296 Mayo Memorial Building,
420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Chronic neck pain is a prevalent and disabling condition among older adults. Despite the large burden of neck pain, little is known regarding the cost-effectiveness of commonly used treatments.
PURPOSE: This study aimed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of home exercise and advice (HEA), spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) plus HEA, and supervised rehabilitative exercise (SRE) plus HEA.
STUDY DESIGN/SETTING: Cost-effectiveness analysis conducted alongside a randomized clinical trial (RCT) was performed.
PATIENT SAMPLE: A total of 241 older adults (≥65 years) with chronic mechanical neck pain comprised the patient sample.
OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome measures were direct and indirect costs, neck pain, neck disability, SF–6D-derived quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) over a 1–year time horizon.
METHODS: This work was supported by grants from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (#F32AT007507), National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (#P60AR062799), and Health Resources and Services Administration (#R18HP01425).
The RCT is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00269308 ).
A societal perspective was adopted for the primary analysis. A healthcare perspective was adopted as a sensitivity analysis. Cost-effectiveness was a secondary aim of the RCT which was not powered for differences in costs or QALYs. Differences in costs and clinical outcomes were estimated using generalized estimating equations and linear mixed models, respectively. Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves were calculated to assess the uncertainty surrounding cost-effectiveness estimates.
RESULTS: Total costs for spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) + home exercise and advice (HEA) were 5% lower than HEA (mean difference: –$111; 95% confidence interval [CI] –$1,354 to $899) and 47% lower than supervised rehabilitative exercise (SRE) + HEA (mean difference: –$1,932; 95% CI –$2,796 to –$1,097).
SMT+HEA also resulted in a greater reduction of neck pain over the year relative to HEA (0.57; 95% CI 0.23 to 0.92) and SRE+HEA (0.41; 95% CI 0.05 to 0.76). Differences in disability and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) favored SMT+HEA. The probability that adding SMT to HEA is cost-effective at willingness to pay thresholds of $50,000 to $200,000 per QALY gained ranges from 0.75 to 0.81. If adopting a health-care perspective, costs for SMT+HEA were 66% higher than HEA (mean difference: $515; 95% CI $225 to $1,094), resulting in an ICER of $55,975 per QALY gained.
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Our Blog is Just a Tool. Learn How To Use It Now.
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Diagnostic and Treatment Methods Used by Chiropractors
Diagnostic and Treatment Methods Used by Chiropractors: A Random Sample Survey of Canada’s English-speaking Provinces
SOURCE: J Can Chiropr Assoc. 2015 (Sep); 59 (3): 279–287
Aaron A. Puhl, MSc, DC, Christine J Reinhart, PhD, DC, and H. Stephen Injeyan, PhD, DC
Department of Pathology and Microbiology,
Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College,
Toronto, ON, M2H 3J1
OBJECTIVE: It is important to understand how chiropractors practice beyond their formal education. The objective of this analysis was to assess the diagnostic and treatment methods used by chiropractors in English-speaking Canadian provinces.
METHODS: A questionnaire was created that examined practice patterns amongst chiropractors. This was sent by mail to 749 chiropractors, randomly selected and stratified proportionally across the nine English-speaking Canadian provinces. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. Data were entered into an Excel spreadsheet, and descriptive statistics were calculated.
RESULTS: The response rate was 68.0%. Almost all (95.1%) of respondents reported performing differential diagnosis procedures with their new patients; most commonly orthopaedic testing, palpation, history taking, range of motion testing and neurological examination. Palpation and painful joint findings were the most commonly used methods to determine the appropriate joint to apply manipulation. The most common treatment methods were manual joint manipulation/mobilization, stretching and exercise, posture/ergonomic advice and soft-tissue therapies.
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Instrument-assisted Delivery and the Prevalence of Reduced Cervical Spine Range of Motion in Infants
Instrument-assisted Delivery and the Prevalence of Reduced Cervical Spine Range of Motion in Infants
SOURCE: Chiropractic J Australia 2018 (Jun); 46 (2): 162–171
Christian Fludder, B.Chiro.Sc, M.Chiro, DACCP,
Braden G. Keil, B.App.Sc. (Chiropractic), M.C.Sc. (Paediatrics), FICC, FACCP
Chiropractic Children’s Healthcare,
9 Lower Plenty Road,
Rosanna, VIC, 3084
Introduction: Instrument-assisted delivery occurs regularly in Australia. This study aims to determine if there is a higher prevalence of restricted cervical spine range of motion (ROM) in infants born via instrumental delivery or Caesarean section compared to vaginal delivery without instrument assistance.
Methods: Data was collated from all 176 infants under 112 days of age in a paediatric chiropractic clinic. Details regarding method of delivery and instrumental assistance were obtained. Passive ROM assessment was recorded as either “Full” or “Reduced”.
Results: Reduced cervical spine ROM was apparent in 76.1% of infants born vaginally without intervention (n=88), 75.0% with forceps assistance (n=16), 88.9% with vacuum-assistance (n = 18), 100% born with vacuum and forceps (n=3), and 82.3% born via Caesarean section (n = 51).
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An Observational Study on Trajectories and Outcomes of Chronic Low Back Pain Patients Referred From a Spine Surgery Division for Chiropractic Treatment
An Observational Study on Trajectories and Outcomes of Chronic Low Back Pain Patients Referred From a Spine Surgery Division for Chiropractic Treatment
SOURCE: Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2019 (Feb 5); 27: 6
Brigitte Wirth, Fabienne Riner, Cynthia Peterson, Barry Kim Humphreys, Mazda Farshad, Susanne Becker and
Petra Schweinhardt
1Integrative Spinal Research Group,
Department of Chiropractic Medicine,
Balgrist University Hospital,
Forchstr. 340, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
Background: A close collaboration between surgeons and non-surgical spine experts is crucial for optimal care of low back pain (LBP) patients. The affiliation of a chiropractic teaching clinic to a university hospital with a large
spine division in Zurich, Switzerland, enables such collaboration. The aim of this study was to describe the trajectories and outcomes of patients with chronic LBP referred from the spine surgery division to the chiropractic teaching clinic.
Methods: The patients filled in an 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS) for pain intensity and the Bournemouth Questionnaire (BQ) (bio-psycho-social measure) at baseline and after 1 week, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Additionally, the Patient’s Global Impression of Change (PGIC) scale was recorded at all time points apart from baseline. The courses of NRS and BQ were analyzed using linear mixed model analysis and repeated measures ANOVA. The proportion of patients reporting clinically relevant overall improvement (PGIC) was calculated and the underlying factors were determined using logistic regression analyses.
Results: Between June 2014 and October 2016, 67 participants (31 male, mean age = 46.8 ± 17.6 years) were recruited, of whom 46 had suffered from LBP for > 1 year, the rest for > 3 months, but < 1 year. At baseline, mean NRS was 5.43 (SD 2.37) and mean BQ was 39.80 (SD 15.16) points. NRS significantly decreased [F(5, 106.77) = 3.15, p = 0.011] to 4.05 (SD 2.88) after 12 months. A significant reduction was not observed before 6 months after treatment start (p = 0.04). BQ significantly diminished [F(5, 106.47) = 6.55, p < 0.001] to 29.00 (SD 17.96) after 12 months and showed a significant reduction within the first month (p < 0.01). The proportion of patients reporting overall improvement significantly increased from 23% after 1 week to 47% after 1 month (p = 0.004), when it stabilized [56% after 3 and 6 months, 44% after 12 months]. Reduction in bio-psycho-social impairment (BQ) was of higher importance for overall improvement than pain reduction.
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