Hands-On Manipulation May Ease Pain
Naprapathy, an alternative therapy, targets connective tissue
 (HealthDay News) -- A long-established but little-known alternative therapy might be useful in treating back and neck pain.
Called naprapathy, it's a branch of "manual medicine" that uses hands-on manipulation to stretch ligaments that have become contracted.
When connective tissue in the body becomes rigid or strained because of a motor vehicle accident, a sports or work injury or improper posture, it can cause pain and inflammation, according to the National College of Naprapathic Medicine in Chicago .
"We evaluate and diagnose the connective tissue and put gentle pressure on it to stretch it," said Dr. Paul J. Maguire, chief executive and board chairman of the college, which will mark its 100th year of operation in September.
In a study that compared naprapathy with treatment that involved doctors' support and advice on coping with pain, researchers found that 57 percent of people who received naprapathy for 12 weeks reported relief of symptoms, compared with 13 percent of the others. The study also found that 69 percent of the naprapathy patients (versus 42 percent of the others) said they had noticeably less pain, Agence France-Press reported.
Naprapaths also engage in nutritional counseling and take advantage of other therapeutic modalities, such as low-level laser therapy, to heal the body.
Currently, the practice of naprapathy is licensed in just two states -- Illinois and New Mexico -- according to Natural Healers, a provider of information on natural-health degrees and careers. However, Maguire said that naprapaths can practice in other states by becoming a licensed massage therapist, for example. By his estimate, fewer than 1,000 naprapaths are practicing in the United States .
"We normally get very, very good results for connective tissue damage," he said.
For the study, researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm divided 409 people with back and neck pain into two groups. One group received naprapathy, including spinal manipulation, massage and stretching, and the others group received support and information from their doctors on how to stay active and cope with the pain.
By the end of the study, 19 percent of naprapathy patients had totally recovered from their back and neck pain, compared with 7 percent of those in the advice-and-support group, Agence France-Press reported.
Doctors of naprapathy typically treat sprains, strains and herniations of the back, neck and extremities -- as long as there is no break or rupture of bone or tissue, Maguire said. "If it's connective tissue -- and connective tissue is primarily ligaments, tendons and muscle -- if that's what it is, that's what I treat," he said.
In Maguire's view, it's an exciting time for the practice of naprapathy. Although the scientific literature is light on studies of naprapathy, per se, the number of studies examining the effects of "connective tissue manipulation" is growing, he said.
"Science is bearing us out now with the MRIs," Maguire noted. "MRIs are advanced enough now to see connective tissue damage, and everything we've been saying for 100 years is becoming empirically evaluated at this particular point in time."
On the Web
To learn more about naprapathy, visit the National College of Naprapathic Medicine.
SOURCES:
HealthDay News ; June 2007, Clinical Journal of Pain ; Paul J. Maguire, D.N., chief executive officer and chairman of the board, National College of Naprapathic Medicine, Chicago; Natural Healers (www.naturalhealers.com); National College of Naprapathic Medicine (www.naprapathicmedicine.edu)
Author:
Karen Pallarito
Publication Date:
June 30, 2008
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