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FCER News Release

For Immediate Release: March 12, 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 Grants Awarded

Norwalk, Iowa—After stringent review of all applications, the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER) is pleased to announce the funding of three new research grants, made possible through funding from NCMIC Foundation. The three newly funded projects will ultimately provide the chiropractic profession with further documentation for the improved treatment of patients, greater leverage for reimbursement, and increased influence in healthcare.

The three newly funded projects are:

• Title: “Chiropractic Dosage for Lumbar Stenosis”
  Principal Investigator: Jerrilyn Cambron, D.C., M.P.H.
  To be conducted at National University of Health Sciences

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), to date not studied from the perspective of clinical trials assessing chiropractic care in its treatment, is the subject matter of this pilot randomized clinical trial pilot. Within a 6-week period involving 45 volunteer subjects with LSS, this investigation will perform a randomization into three groups of flexion-distraction care: Group 1 receiving 8 treatments, Group 2 administered 12, and Group 3 having 18. A follow-up assessment is to be made at 12 weeks. The main outcome measures to be employed are the pain (VAS) scale, Oswestry Disability Index, the Stucki Condition Specific Questionnaire used for patients with LSS, and a measurement of ambulation time to the point of stenosis symptoms (Treadmill Test). Except for the latter, the outcomes are to be measured every two weeks from baseline to the end of treatment and then at the 12-week follow-up. The objectives of this investigation are to determine the feasibility of a larger study with respect to logistics, recruitment efforts, and sample size estimations; and to determine the change in perceived pain levels and general functional health status among the three experimental groups at the end of the treatment and follow-up times.

• Title: “Chiropractic and Acute Neck Pain: A Practice-Based Study”
  Principal Investigator: Michael Haneline, D.C., M.P.H.
  To be conducted at Palmer College of Chiropractic West

This prospective practice-based study of patients aged 18-71 with acute neck pain seeks to pool characteristics of the patients undergoing treatment with treatment parameters in the physicians' offices. The descriptive nature of this project defines it as a feasibility study, to gather information concerning prior patient history, mechanisms of injury, attributes of treatment and utilization, referral patterns, patient satisfaction, and several outcome measures. It will also determine whether the attending chiropractors used manipulation solely or in conjunction with such other interventions as exercise, physiotherapy, or nutritional advice. More specific data will include pain (VAS), disability (neck disability index), and patient satisfaction together with the specific spinal segments that were manipulated and the numbers of manipulations applied to each particular cervical segment. This prospective investigation with follow-up at 6 months is the proposed successor to a retrospective study of similar design already performed by the same authors.

• Title: “Does Chiropractic Care Decrease Fall Risk in Older Adults?”
  Principal Investigator: Cheryl Hawk, D.C., Ph.D.
  To be conducted at Cleveland Chiropractic College

This investigation seeks to develop a line of investigation into the possible effects of chiropractic care in reducing the risk of falls in older adults with impaired balance. It is a an exploratory randomized pilot study in which one group of 10 will receive chiropractic care with spinal manipulation for 8 weeks; a second group of the same size receiving monthly follow-up visits for 10 months in addition to the aforementioned interventions, and a third cohort receiving no treatments but rather a booklet of home balance exercises. Berg Balance scores, interviews and fall inventories up to 12 months from baseline will be followed as this investigation seeks to establish a long-term surveillance of falls occurring in older adult chiropractic patients, building a recruitment pool within the local community in the process.

It is proposed that balance, the risk factor for falls, is adversely affected by both musculoskeletal function and low back and lower extremity pain—which have been found to be responsive in previous studies to chiropractic intervention. In this manner, the role of chiropractic care for the elderly could be justified and then documented should this pilot study and a more sophisticated follow-up study yield positive outcomes. A previous small cohort study did reveal significant improvements in balance in patients undergoing chiropractic care.

In addition to the continued funding of research projects to further the scientific base upon which the chiropractic profession rests, FCER is also committed to protecting the information gathered within chiropractic and making that knowledge base accessible to all. For this reason, FCER is in the process of developing the Evidence-Based Chiropractic Resource Center (EB-CRC), which will work to provide needed collaborative assistance to the various aspects of the profession and open the communication between all interested parties—the practicing chiropractor, the researcher, the educator, and the association and allied organizations that serve the profession.

For more information on FCER and the EB-CRC, please go to www.fcer.org. FCER is extremely grateful to the continued support of NCMIC Foundation. With a motto of “We take care of our own,” NCMIC’s continued support of research projects and Fellows through FCER is a clear demonstration of the commitment to the profession shown in that statement. For more information on NCMIC, please go to www.ncmic.com.

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