On April 27, 2000, a chiropractic patient and advocate named Michael Marcus donated $383,897 for the study of manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) and related therapies. This area of research has not been well studied; many questions remain about its role in the care and treatment of chronic mechanical disease.
Michael Marcus' interest in funding research came from a series of personal injuries that resulted in disc herniation and chronic leg pain. The terms of his donation call for a high-quality study managed by an internationally recognized team of researchers. The research team comprises Scott Haldeman,DC,MD,PhD; Eric Hurwitz,DC,PhD, and Frank Kohlbeck,DC, PhD. Betsy Singh, PhD, dean of research at Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, will serve as an advisor.
Preliminary research on several aspects of this protocol were conducted by Drs. Jim Wooley and Chris Kemper, who presented a paper at the Third World Congress on Low Back Pain in Vienna, Austria in November of 1998. Their preliminary retrospective research was later published in the Journal of Orthopedic Medicine.
The research will be conducted through the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic using baselines established by the North American Spine Society, pre- and post-Cartesian coordinate radiographs, and pre- and post-MRI scans. The research team will be recruiting 100 patients to participate in the study.
Preliminary inclusion criteria: ages 18 to 60 years with low back pain of at least three month's duration (with or without leg pain).
Exclusion criteria: prior spinal fusion; clinical obesity; tobacco use; spondylolisthesis; severe spinal stenosis or osteoporosis.
The study will be conducted in two different geographic areas: Dr. Wooley's Southern California office (Irvine), and Dr. Kemper's Northern California office (Chico). Doctors of chiropractic who have interested patients that may meet the inclusion criteria should contact:
Jim Wooley,DC at (949) 261 8975
Chris Kemper,DC at (530) 895-9355
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