June 23, 2010

For release:    Immediately

Contact:          Lori Leipold, Media Relations; Palmer College of Chiropractic; phone (563) 884-5726; fax (563) 884-5225; e-mail lori.leipold@palmer.edu; College website at www.palmer.edu

Palmer College of Chiropractic, Loyola University, Hines VA researchers and Dr. James Cox work together to understand Cox® distraction procedure for neck pain

In a ground-breaking study, medical and chiropractic researchers are joining efforts to study the effects of a form of non-surgical treatment for neck pain, more specifically Cox distraction manipulation. This study is one of three projects that are part of a four-year, $2.8 million grant awarded in 2008 to the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research (PCCR), headquartered on the Palmer College of Chiropractic campus in Davenport, Iowa. The grant is from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to establish a multidisciplinary Developmental Center for Clinical and Translational Science in Chiropractic, and the principal investigator is Christine Goertz, D.C., Ph.D., who also serves as Palmer’s vice chancellor for Research and Health Policy. Co-leaders of the Cox distraction manipulation project are M. Ram Gudavalli, Ph.D., PCCR, and Avinash G. Patwardhan, Ph.D., Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine and Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital.

This study is in progress and funded through May 30, 2012. It combines the efforts of medical doctors, chiropractors, biomechanists and clinical researchers, in order to document the effects of the Cox distraction chiropractic procedure on neck pain and develop sham and active treatment parameters for conducting clinical studies.

The project, titled Cervical Distraction Sham Development: Translating from Basic to Clinical Studies, consists of three main parts. After completing the pilot studies, the formal basic research study began in March 2010 on the Cox distraction procedure for neck pain at Edward Hines VA Hospital and Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. This study is a collaborative effort between researchers at these facilities, researchers from Palmer College of Chiropractic, clinicians who perform this technique in their practices, and Dr. James Cox, the originator of the procedure. 

“As the manipulation procedure is performed, we are measuring the variability between four different clinicians trained in this procedure by measuring the loads and the controlled displacements of the table using a basic science approach as well as a clinical approach,” said Dr. Gudavalli from Palmer. “According to practicing doctors of chiropractic, this chiropractic procedure has provided relief for musculoskeletal conditions such as neck pain. However, there is a need for studies that provide information on the biomechanical characterization of such therapies, the biomechanics of normal and pathological joint and muscle systems, and the development of new technologies that study such biomechanics in real time. In other words, what physiological effect does the procedure have that is responsible for its clinical successes?”

The results of this study will aid in the planning and development of controlled procedures in the clinical setting, and test the validity of delivering the controlled procedures by conducting clinical studies and obtaining patients’ perception on the controlled intervention. This knowledge has the potential to guide the future conduct of clinical research in this area and impact training of students and doctors in the chiropractic profession.

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Lori Leipold

Media Relations Manager

Palmer College of Chiropractic

Office: (563) 884-5726

Cell: (563) 343-0665

Shoulder pain and arm pain and arm pain that may even go all the way to the hand and fingers can be frustrating. Sometimes people think that it's just from overexertion or an arm muscle pull. Sometimes, though, the pain may be the result of nerve compression in the cervical spine. A disc herniation ("slipped disc") could be the culprit. Stenosis could be the culprit. The physician can differentiate the cause and help with Cox® Technic Flexion-Distraction and Decompression Adjusting. 

In a retrospective study of 39 patients treated in one physician's office, Cox® Technic provided statistically significant relief of pain. The Visual Analog Scale ("On a scale of 1 to 10 with one be no pain and 10 being the worst pain, what is your pain today?") reports by the patients showed reduction in pain. The mean number of treatments was 13 (+/- 8 treatments). The treatment protocol was Cox® Technic and physical therapy modality (ex: ice or electrical stimulation or other). 

This study of cervical spine radiculopathy patients with pain down the arm below the elbow is a stepping stone to larger studies of its kind to document the relief attainable with Cox® Technic. Cox® Technic and its physicians and researchers strive to document the protocols, outcomes and biomechanics for the best clinical outcomes.

For more information on Cox® Technic flexion-distraction for cervical spine pain and cervical spine pain radiculopathy, please visit http://coxtechnic.com/homepage/cervicalspine.html . 

(source: Schliesser JS, Kruse RA, Fleming Fallon L: Cervical radiculopathy treated with chiropractic flexion distraction manipulation: a retrospective study in a private practice setting: Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2003; 26(9):592-596)