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Behavioural Intervention

Chiropractic Care for Multiple Sclerosis

N/A

Recruiting

Led By William R Reed, DC, PhD

Research Sponsored by University of Alabama at Birmingham

Eligibility Criteria Checklist

Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial

Must have

Age 18 to 55 years

No known cardiovascular, pulmonary, or metabolic disease

Must not have

Any past spinal surgery or recent history of bone fractures

Timeline

Screening 3 weeks

Treatment Varies

Follow Up week 4 (after 8th treatment)

Summary

This trial will test the effects of spinal manipulation on pro- and anti-inflammatory markers in people with MS.

Who is the study for?

This trial is for adults aged 18-55 with a recent diagnosis of relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis (MS), who are stable on FDA-approved MS medications, and have not had an MS flare-up in the past month. They should be new to chiropractic care, free from major diseases or conditions that affect the heart, lungs, or metabolism, and must not have had spinal surgery or bone fractures recently.

What is being tested?

The study tests if chiropractic care can influence immune markers in people with MS. Participants will receive either real spinal manipulation treatments or sham (fake) ones over four weeks to see how their cytokine levels change immediately after treatment and cumulatively.

What are the potential side effects?

While specific side effects aren't listed for this trial, typical risks of spinal manipulation may include temporary discomfort at the site of adjustment, headaches, fatigue, and rarely more serious complications like herniated disks.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

You may be eligible if you check “Yes” for the criteria below

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I am between 18 and 55 years old.

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I do not have any known heart, lung, or metabolic diseases.

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I can safely undergo spinal manipulation.

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My disability score is below 4, indicating I can walk without aid or rest for 500m.

Exclusion Criteria

You may be eligible for the trial if you check “No” for criteria below:

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I have had spinal surgery or recent bone fractures.

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks3 visits

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~ week 4 (after 8th treatment)

Screening ~ 3 weeks

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~week 4 (after 8th treatment)

This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and week 4 (after 8th treatment) for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Study objectives can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.

Primary study objectives

Serum inflammatory cytokine levels

Secondary study objectives

Cognitive Processing Speed

Fatigue Severity Scale

Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale

+5 more

Trial Design

2Treatment groups

Experimental Treatment

Placebo Group

Group I: Spinal ManipulationExperimental Treatment1 Intervention

The spinal manipulation (SM) group will receive manually delivered SM limited to the thoracic spine.

Group II: Sham Spinal ManipulationPlacebo Group1 Intervention

Sham-spinal manipulation will be delivered by setting the expansion control knob on an Activator II (Activator Methods®) device to the zero position (off; no thrust) and placed onto the dorsal thumb surface of the clinician. At a setting of zero, no excursion of the Activator II stylus occurs, despite the device delivering an audible clicking sound, with no biomechanical force being imparted.

0 / 5Eligibility criteria met