Dynamic chest compression occurs during spinal manipulation.

Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, analyzed the magnitude of chest compressions during chiropractic manipulation.

First, the details.

• Part 1: A crash dummy was used to measure chest compression during “normal” chiropractic manipulation and spinal manipulations with maximum effort at the midback (T7 to T8 vertebrae).
• Part 2: A mechanical device was used to apply and measure the forces necessary to induce chest compression in the test dummy.
  • These forces were increased until injurious levels of force were reached.
• The likelihood of injury was assessed and classified using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) — a classification system correlated to injury thresholds.

And, the results.

• Manipulations using typical and maximum efforts resulted in maximum chest compressions corresponding to minimal risk of minor (AIS 1 level) injuries.

The bottom line?

Interesting and reassuring.

A PubMed search revealed no similar studies.

5/18/11 19:53 JR