• Principal Investigator: Lindsay Gorrell
• Collaborators: Petra Schweinhardt, Martina Wehrli, Nathalie Thurnherr

This project bridges the gap between undergraduate education and entry into clinical practice for chiropractic students by using cutting-edge force-sensing technology and manikins to teach spinal manipulation skills for frequently treated patient presentations in clinical practice. Students report that they lack confidence when applying spinal manipulation to patients during their first months in clinical practice as they have not had the possibility to practice modification of their spinal manipulation skills to specific patient populations during their undergraduate studies. One way to address this could be to use manikin-based simulation and clinical vignettes in the chiropractic technique skills classroom.

• Principal Investigator: Lindsay Gorrell
• Collaborators: Martin Descarreaux, Petra Schweinhardt, Mathieu Piché

Spinal manipulation is an effective treatment for neck pain. However, the mechanisms underlying its beneficial clinical effects (e.g., decreased pain and increased range of motion) are not well understood. There is an increasing body of literature reporting that spinal manipulation delivery kinetics are related to physiological responses of the somatic and autonomic nervous system. However, it is unclear if reported somatic muscle responses, measured via electromyogram (EMG), are linked to clinical outcomes such as increased range of motion. It has also been reported that spinal manipulation delivered to some spinal regions (lower cervical/upper thoracic) results in transient effects on the autonomic nervous system, measured for example via heart rate variability. However, delivery kinetics were not reported in these studies. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between delivery kinetics, physiological responses and clinical outcomes following spinal manipulation.

• Principal Investigator: Anke Langenfeld
• Collaborators: Petra Schweinhardt, Inga Paravicini, Mette Hobaek Siegenthaler, Philipp Schütz

The broader project focuses on investigating the effectiveness of chiropractic care in infants with cervical spine impairments. There are eight subprojects, e.g. a scoping review in combination with a database analysis, which will contribute to the broader project. The project is a collaboration between Balgrist University Hospital, private chiropractic practices, and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Lucerne. The outcome of this project aims to improve medical care for infants diagnosed with cervical spine impairments suitable for upper cervical spine treatment.

• Principal Investigator: Petra Schweinhardt
• Collaborators: Brigitte Wirth, Martina Wehrli

The aim of this project is to assess the course of patients under chiropractic treatment at various specified points in time in order to 1) identify subgroups and risk factors for unfavorable outcome and to 2) maintain the high quality standard of the chiropractic policlinic.

• Principal investigator: Petra Schweinhardt
• Collaborators: Beatriz Chozas Barrientos, Stefan Dudli, Lindsay Gorrell, Anke Langenfeld, Martina Wehrli, Brigitte Wirth, Niklaus Zölch

Low back pain is a significant health problem. It is frequently recurrent - new episodes often last longer or are more intense, making these patients an important target for prevention and treatment. The aim of this project is to identify potential underlying mechanisms, based on a multidisciplinary biopsychosocial profile of recurrent low back pain patients. 

Further information

• Principal Investigator: Michael L. Meier
• Collaborators: Petra Schweinhardt, Luana Nyirö

Manual therapy, such as spinal manipulation (SM), is commonly used to treat non-specific chronic low back pain (CLBP), although its mechanisms remain poorly understood. It has been hypothesized that the mechanical forces applied during spinal manipulation (SM) influence proprioceptive function, which is often impaired in patients with CLBP. This project aims to investigate the effect of SM on lumbar proprioceptive function and its potential relationship with analgesic effects in patients with CLBP. Furthermore, the project aims to provide novel insights into the potential of proprioceptive function/changes as a biomarker of SM efficacy.

• Principal Investigator: Michael L. Meier
• Collaborators: Petra Schweinhardt, Monika Dörig, Mena Suter, Phillip Schütz, Louis Schibli, Daniel Nanz

Understanding where and how the brain processes sensory inputs from the back, particularly proprioceptive inputs, remains a critical gap in the neuroscientific literature. Equally important is exploring how alterations in supraspinal sensory pathways influence spinal motor control and contribute to the persistence of pain. To address these questions, we utilize high-resolution 7T functional imaging with a limited field of view encompassing the sensorimotor and posterior parietal cortices. Vibrotactile stimulation at varying frequencies is applied to the upper and lower back in patients with chronic low back pain and healthy controls. Advanced methods and tools, including 3D EPI acquisition, state-of-the-art univariate approaches and multivariate techniques such as machine learning and pattern analysis, are rigorously evaluated and implemented. By generating detailed cortical maps of segmental tactile and proprioceptive input from the back, this research seeks to advance our understanding of supraspinal sensorimotor adaptations and their role in the development and persistence of low back pain.

• Principal Investigator: Petra Schweinhardt

Pain processing in humans is very complex and interacts with different systems of our body. In this study, we want to investigate in more detail how pain processing and sensation are related to a certain part of the nervous system, the so-called autonomic nervous system. For this purpose, we assess the effect of sensory nerve stimulation at the ear on subjective pain perception as well as pain processing at the level of the spinal cord in healthy individuals.