Similarly, a report from the RAND Corporation published in the prestigious Annals of Internal Medicine found manipulation effective for the relief of acute low back pain. To date, there's no scientific confirmation of chiropractic's effectiveness for anything other than low back pain. However, in a few years we should know more. In early 1998, the National Institutes of Health's Office of Alternative Medicine, and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases awarded a research grant to support the first federally funded Center for Chiropractic Research. Although the back is the primary focus of chiropractic, the manipulations can be applied to any muscle or joint in the body.
Techniques vary among practitioners.
Typically, after preparation and proper positioning, the chiropractor creates tension around the offending joint, then applies pressure to return it to its proper position. The noise is similar to the one you hear when cracking your knuckles. It results from the sudden release of built-up pressure in the joint, and is generally painless. As the joint snaps into place, pain is relieved and proper function is restored. Other techniques you may encounter include soft tissue manipulation, trigger-point manipulation, or deep tissue massage.