Is manipulative therapy more effective than a "fake" manipulation in adults.

What is it about?

This manuscript reviews the current available evidence to assess if manipulative therapy is more effective than a "fake" manipulation in adults with all possible disorders that manipulation is used as a therapy. In total 965 references were screened for eligibility and 19 RCTs (n = 1080) met the selection criteria. Eight studies were considered of low risk of bias. There is moderate level of evidence that manipulative therapy has a significant effect in adults on pain relief immediately after treatment. There is low level of evidence that manipulative therapy has a significant effect in adults on pain relief at short- term follow-up. In patients with musculoskeletal disorders, we found moderate level of evidence for pain relie fimmediate after treatment and low level of evidence for pain relief at short term-follow-up. We found very low level of evidence that manipulative therapy has no statistically significant effect on disability and perceived (asthma) recovery. Sensitivity analyses did not change the main findings. No serious adverse events were reported in the manipulative therapy or sham group.

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Why is it important?

Manipulative therapy is widely used in the treatment of spinal disorders. Manipulative techniques are under debate because of the possibility of adverse events. To date, the efficacy of manipulations compared to sham manipulations is unclear. The purpose of the study is: to assess the efficacy of manipulative therapy compared to sham in adults with a variety of complaints.