In the manual therapy video below, NAIOMT faculty instructor Steve Allen, PT, OCS, COMT, FAAOMPT takes you through structures to be considered when looking at stabilization of the lumbar spine.

Topics: lumbar spine, lumbopelvic spine, manual therapy, NAIOMT, back pain, manual therapy techniques, Manual Therapy Videos
Abstract of the Week: The effects of a standardized belly dance program on perceived pain, disability, and function in women with chronic low back pain.
Alright, this week's abstract isn't your average study. And while I know that an "N" of one does not hold a lot of statistical power, I still think this one warrants a quick read. Why? Let me tell you.
Topics: Abstract of the Week, physical therapy, back pain, belly dancing
Increasing Movement in the Lumbar Spine of Older Patients
In the manual therapy video below, NAIOMT faculty Member Kathy Stupansky, PT, DSc, OCS, FAAOMPT demonstrates her technique for increasing movement in the lumbar spine in older patient populations.
Topics: lumbar spine, lumbopelvic spine, manual therapy, physical therapy, back pain, Manual Therapy Videos, elderly
Abstract of The Week: The association between dry needling-induced twitch response and change in pain and muscle function in patients with low back pain
Objective: To investigate the relationship between dry needling-induced twitch response and change in pain, disability, nociceptive sensitivity,and lumbar multifidus muscle function, in patients with low back pain (LBP).
Design: Quasi-experimental study.Setting Department of Defense Academic Institution.
Participants: Sixty-six patients with mechanical LBP (38 men, 28 women, age: 41.3 [9.2] years).
Interventions: Dry needling treatment to the lumbar multifidus muscles between L3 and L5 bilaterally.
Main outcome measure:s Examination procedures included numeric pain rating, the Modified Oswestry Disability Index, pressure algometry,and real-time ultrasound imaging assessment of lumbar multifidus muscle function before and after dry needling treatment. Pain pressurethreshold (PPT) was used to measure nocioceptive sensitivity. The percent change in muscle thickness from rest to contraction was calculatedto represent muscle function. Participants were dichotomized and compared based on whether or not they experienced at least one twitchresponse on the most painful side and spinal level during dry needling.
Result:s Participants experiencing local twitch response during dry needling exhibited greater immediate improvement in lumbar multifidusmuscle function than participants who did not experience a twitch (thickness change with twitch: 12.4 [6]%, thickness change without twitch:5.7 [11]%, mean difference adjusted for baseline value, 95%CI: 4.4 [1 to 8]%). However, this difference was not present after 1-week, andthere were no between-groups differences in disability, pain intensity, or nociceptive sensitivity.
Conclusions: The twitch response during dry needling might be clinically relevant, but should not be considered necessary for successfultreatment.
To pop, or not to pop? That has long been a questions among clinicians who utilize spinal manipulation. Is the cavitation, or audible pop, necessary to achieve a "successful" manipluation? While some literature indicates that it may not be necessary, this remains a viable question.
In an almost synonymous fashion, achieving a local twitch response (LTR) has been viewed by some as one of the primary goals with dry needling as it has been associated with better treatment outcomes (1,2). The local twitch response has been shown to be associated with a decrease in nociceptive and inflammatory chemicals (1,3-6), increased blood flow (7), and decrease pain (8) to name a few. In some circles, the LTR considered as the hallmark of a successful dry needling treatment. Recently, the authors sought to investigate the association between the LTR and changes in pain and function in patients with lumbar pain.
**Abstract of the week shared by NAIOMT Clinical Fellowship Instructor Gary Kearns, PT, COMT, FAAOMPT
2. Hong CZ. Lidocaine injection versus dry needling to myofascial trigger points. The importance of the local twitch response. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 1994;73(4):256-263.
3. Bron C, Dommerholt JD. Etiology of myofascial trigger points. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2012;16(5):439-444.
4. Huguenin LK. Myofascial trigger points: the current evidence. Phys Ther Sport. 2004;5(1).
5. Shah JP, Phillips T, Danoff JV, Gerber LH. A novel microanalytical technique for assaying soft tissue demonstrates significant quantitative biochemical differences in 3 clinically distinct groups: normal, latent, and active. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2003;84(9):E4.
6. Shat JP, Phillips TM, Danoff, JV, Gerber LH. An in vivo microanalytical technique for measuring the local biochemical milieu of human skeletal muscle. J App Physiol. 2005;99(5):1977-1984.
7. Jimbo S, Atsuta Y, Kobayashi T, Matsuno T. Effects of dry needling at tender points for neck pain (Japanese: Katakori): near-infrared spectroscopy for monitoring muscular oxygenation of the trapezius. J Orthop Sci. 2008;13(2):101-106.
Topics: Abstract of the Week, manual therapy, back pain, Dry Needling, low back pain, Uncategorized
Abstract of The Week: Enhanced Therapeutic Alliance Modulates Pain Intensity and Muscle Pain Sensitivity in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain
Topics: Abstract of the Week, NAIOMT, pain, rebecca lowe, back pain, chronic pain, therapeutic Alliance, Uncategorized
Topics: manual therapy, pain, Physical Therapy, physical therapy, PT, back pain, getpt1st
Abstract of the Week: Early Physical Therapy vs Usual Care in Patients With Recent-Onset Low Back Pain
Topics: Abstract of the Week, physical therapy, PT for back pain, back pain, Clinical Reasoning, low back pain
5 Tips for Helping Chronic Pain Patients Using the Power of the Mind
Topics: mindfulness, psychology of pain, back pain, chronic pain, clinical skills
Abstract of The Week: Validation of a Clinical Test of Thoracolumbar Dissociation in Chronic Low Back Pain
Topics: Abstract of the Week, back pain, chronic pain, low back pain, Thoracolumbar Dissociation
By the age of 26 I had been fighting some type of back pain for years. It had become a normal way of life. I still was able to do most of anything I wanted to until “The Day.” While replacing our garage door, I went to lift the old door when it happened, a big pop in my back. Four hours later I was unable to get out of bed. I was experiencing what we know as a “classic disc protrusion.” For the next two weeks I was bed ridden. After that I went back to work using a cane for about a month to keep weight off my left leg.
Topics: lumbopelvic spine, Manual Physical Therapy, manual therapy, back pain, getting older, low back pain