Osteopathy and Chronic Low Back Pain
Between 2005 and 2007, Hühner/Mignault carried out a study on chronic low back pain.
During the study, the researchers wanted to highlight the impact of problems in other areas of the body on the lower back. For example, could foot, skull or vertebral blockages have an effect on the intensity of chronic low back pain?
Their intention was therefore to verify any influence from the spinal column, the skull or the lower limbs on the intensity of low back pain and on low back mobility.
To carry out their clinical study, they selected 54 subjects who were divided into three groups of 18 people. Two groups received four osteopathic treatments—spinal and skull treatments (craniosacral system) or treatments involving the lower limbs. The third group received four complete back massages.
Hühner/Mignault assessed the intensity of the low back pain, the mobility of the lumbar vertebrae and the participants’ functional level using the McGill-Melzack Pain Questionnaire, a validated questionnaire (the Dallas Pain Questionnaire or DPQ) and osteopathic tests for vertebral mobility. The assessments were performed before and after the series of four treatments and again one month after the treatments ended.
After analyzing the results, the researchers noted that the two groups that received osteopathic treatments reported significantly decreased pain intensity over time, which was not the case for the group that received massages. They were therefore able to state that decreased mobility in areas of the body that are separated from the lower back can influence chronic low back pain.
