Spinal manipulation, in the form of chiropractic, osteopathy, or manipulative physiotherapy, followed by a program of exercise, provides significant relief of symptoms and improvements in general health, according to a trial by the Medical Research Council (MRC). The results of the trial were published November 19, 2006 in the Online edition of the British Medical Journal.

According to the MRC, which is a national research organization funded by the British Parliament, lower back pain is one of the most common ailments general practitioners have to treat.

The MRC trial recruited more than 1,300 patients from across the UK, whose back pain had not improved after receiving “best care” in general practice, to assess the effectiveness of three different treatments. The treatments were:

  • A class-based physical exercise program.
  • Spinal manipulation.
  • A combined package of spinal manipulation followed by a program of exercise.

The results showed that patients in all treatment groups reported improved back function and reduced pain over time, but to varying degrees. On average, patients assigned to exercise classes in addition to care by a general practitioner (GP) reported a small benefit at three months but not at one year.

Those assigned to spinal manipulation in addition to GP care reported a small to moderate benefit at three months and a small, on average, benefit at one year.

The greatest improvement was found in the patients assigned to combined manipulation and exercise in addition to GP care. They reported a moderate, on average, improvement at three months and a small average improvement at one year. These benefits were the same whether treatment was delivered using private or National Health Service (NHS) premises.

An economic analysis was also carried out. It showed that the cost to the NHS of all three treatments was modest. It also showed that both spinal manipulation and the combined package of spinal manipulation and exercise achieved similar benefits to patients at a similar cost to the NHS.

According to the American Chiropractic Association, the MRC study is one of a number of recent studies regarding chiropractic’s effectiveness for back pain over traditional medical care.

A March 2004 study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that chiropractic care is more effective than medical care at treating chronic low-back pain in patients’ first year of symptoms. And a study published in the July 13, 2003 edition of the medical journal Spine found that manual manipulation provides better short-term relief of chronic spinal pain than does a variety of medications.