The efficacy of chiropractic adjustment in the treatment of primary metatarsalgia

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to investigate the relative efficacy of foot and ankle adjustments as opposed to placebo ultrasound, in terms of subjective and objective clinical findings, in the treatment of primary metatarsalgia. This was a randomised, controlled, clinical trial consisting of two groups. Group A received foot and ankle adjustments, while Group B received detuned ultrasound as the placebo treatment. Each group consisted of twenty subjects between the ages of 20 and 78 years, who were randomly assigned to their respective groups. It was hypothesised that foot and ankle adjustments would be effective in the treatment of primary metatarsalgia. Subjects diagnosed with primary metatarsalgia were included in the study. The treatment regime consisted of a course of eight treatments, with two treatments a week, spread over a four-week period. Subjective and objective measurements were taken at the initial, second, third and final consultations. Subjective data consisted of the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire, the Numerical Pain Rating Scale -101 and the Foot Function Index. Objective data was collected by means of Algometer measurements. Inter-group comparisons were made using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney unpaired U-test for the categorical variables and the parametric two-sample unpaired t-test for the continuous variables. Inter-group comparisons of the subjective readings showed that the two groups were similar at the beginning of the study, except in terms