What is manipulation under anesthesia and how is it different from traditional chiropractic manipulation?
The goals and effects of spinal manipulation performed either with the patient conscious or under anesthesia are the same, yet there are very important differences in the application of forces with each approach. Where fibromuscular indurations have formed as a result of trauma, chronic spasm, or the effects of immobilization have caused a restriction in active range of motion. When we attempt to adjust the joints in the presence of this aberrant muscle function, we encounter an inability to guide the joint through the active range of motion and into the passive, thus not achieving movement enough to detect joint end-play which would allow us to deliver an effective chiropractic adjustment. Often this resistance is due to reactive muscle splinting and pain response by the patient resulting in an aborted or ineffectual manipulation of this joint due to the conscious patient’s response to the manipulation. This is the minority of cases where rigid fibrosis of the normally elastic support
