Quantifying the effects of spinal manipulations on gait, using patients with low back pain: a pilot study.

A pilot study was performed to investigate the effects of chiropractic treatment on the gait of one patient with a chronic sacroiliac joint syndrome. Qualitative and quantitative measures were used to describe pain, sacroiliac joint mobility, functional ability and gait patterns of this patient before and after receiving chiropractic treatment, and throughout the rehabilitation period. For this patient, chiropractic treatment reduced the low back pain and was associated with significant changes in selected gait parameters. A study involving 10-20 subjects is under way to possibly generalize the findings of this investigation.