November 13, 2018 -- Congratulations are due to Norman W. Kettner, DC, DACBR, DCBCN, FICC, chair of Logan’s Department of Radiology, whose collaborative research was published this week in Journal of Pain.
The research explored clinical and neuroimaging responses of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) in chronic low back pain. It demonstrates reduction of pain, expectation of pain, fear-related movement and the corresponding brain imaging responses.
According to the study, learning and memory (implicit) processes, such as habituation, sensitization and operant conditioning, are determinants of chronic low back pain. Perception of pain takes place when potential or actual noxious stimuli are appraised as threats. Maladaptive neuroplastic structural and functional brain changes evolve from these learning processes to initiate changes in pain perception. The reversal of these maladaptive brain changes reduces chronic pain. One method of achieving this is through SMT, which generates salient sensory and proprioceptive feedback that may disrupt the relationship between pain anticipation, fear and movement.
The research was partly funded by National Chiropractic Mutual Insurance Company and was a collaboration between Logan University, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine―a partnership between Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School―and Melrose Family Chiropractic.