A narrative review of massage and spinal manipulation in the treatment of low back pain

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common musculoskeletal problems that affect patients’ daily life. Nowadays, treatment of LBP is very challenging due to the recurrent nature of the problem. This narrative review focuses on massage and spinal manipulation on LBP condition. The other issues consist of epidemiology, etiology, symptoms, and rapport between clinician and patient on treatment were explored. Online electronic search in databases (OvidTM, Scopus, EMBASE and PubMed) was performed using key words such as LBP, massage, and spinal manipulation. Textbooks and web page are additional sources that were used for gathering information. Literature reported that high incidence of LBP in agriculture areas which is farmer, in the urban area mainly office worker and industrial area mainly factory operator. LBP frequently occurs among office workers, pregnant, and obesity due to poor body mechanics. Building a successful rapport is a single most important factor in a relationship between clinician and patient. Understanding patient’s perspective in their illness such as belief about cause, treatment approaches, and quality‑of‑life will help clinician create plans that are more appropriate to patient’s situation and preferences. Patient’s trust is the easing way for the clinician to provide treatments. Based on current evidence, there are arrays of conservative treatments shown to be effective in treating LBP. However, massage and spinal manipulation are the most popular among LBP patients because it contributes good effect in reducing pain intensity. Massage preferred by certain patient such as traditional Malay massage, Thai massage, Tui Na because it provide a relaxation on the body. In addition, spinal manipulation also showed a positive outcome on pain reduction and joint hypomobility. LBP is a common problem, and various methods could be used as a treatment. However, traditional massage is fast gaining popularity even in the modernized society.