This procedure, manipulation under anesthesia (MUA), is a non-invasive procedure increasingly offered for acute and chronic conditions, including: neck pain, back pain, joint pain, muscle spasm, shortened muscles, fibrous adhesions and long term pain syndromes. It is generally considered safe and is utilized to treat pain arising from the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine as well as the sacroiliac and pelvic regions.

Manipulation under anesthesia uses a combination of specific short lever manipulations, passive stretches and specific articular and postural kinesthetic maneuvers in order to break up fibrous adhesions and scar tissue around the spine and surrounding tissue.

Certain neck, mid back, low back or other spinal conditions respond poorly to conventional care. One proposed theory for this is that, as a result of past or present injury, adhesions and scar tissue have built up around spinal joints and within the surrounding muscles and causes chronic pain.

Patients often undergo various treatments, such as physical therapy, chiropractic care, epidural injections, back surgery, or other treatments that do not address fibrous adhesions. Some patients feel temporarily better with these treatments, but their pain often returns.

In general, patients selected for manipulation under anesthesia are those who have received conservative care for six to eight weeks. If limited or no improvements in symptoms or objective findings have occurred, then manipulation under anesthesia may be an appropriate alternative.

Objective effects of a chiropractic adjustment have been investigated and reported. More specifically, a single chiropractic adjustment produces both sensory and motor effects as well as sympathetic nervous system effects.

The sensory and motor effects of a chiropractic manipulation include:

Sympathetic nervous system effects of a chiropractic manipulation include:

Blood chemistry changes after a chiropractic manipulation include: