Spinal Research Steps

For those that are intersted, I want to share with my audience what it takes to get a research paper published.

Recently, in the development of The Oracle Spine Model, I believe I have discovered where the sound is coming from in a typical spinal adjustment. Current thinking is that the “crack” has been thought to be coming from a gas bubble (you can read more here) but the research that showed this is old and not definitive. I am proposing something different and I want to see if I can prove it. Let me try to explain.

Joints in the spine and other areas, including the knuckles, are called synovial joints. The joint is made up of two bones, covered with cartilage, and lubricated with synovial fluid. Synovial come from the words “syn”, meaning same, and “ovum”, meaning egg. The synovial fluid has the consistency of a raw egg white. And this synovial fluid helps the two cartilage surfaces slide on one another.

There is one other anatomical structure that doesn’t get talked about much. It is called the synovial fold.

Above you can see the triangular structure that can sometimes get caught in between the two surfaces. This is the structure I believe is making the noise as it lifts off the cartilage and releases like a suction cup. You can read a little bit more about this here.

So my hypothesis is that the synovial fold is making the noise, not the gas bubble, as currently thought.

To test this , I am going to be using MRI and wanted to lay out the steps required to get this research done. I will be adding the this blog page so check back regularly if you are interested.

Step 1. Hypothesis…done June, 2013

Step 2. Develop how this is going to be measured/proven (Methods)…done

Step 3. Application to the Ethics Review Board to use human subjects…done

Step 4. Application partial approval

Step 5. Funding….Dr. Jerome Fryer decided to fund this personally to expedite the process

Step 6. Application required revisions…done

Step 7. Application re-submitted to Ethics Review Board…done

Step 8. Application approved by Ethics Review Board…done

Step 9. Submit approved application to MRI facility for their approval…Sept 2013

Step 10. Researchers must take MRI Safety course. Oct 24 is next available course.

Step 11. Research apparatus for joint manipulationneeds approval prior to collecting data.