Objective:
Discuss non-surgical spinal rehabilitation for a 27-year-old male with thoracic and lumbosacral spondylolistheses. A selective literature review and discussion are provided.
Clinical features:
A 27-year-old male presented with severe, 8/10 mid and low back pain. Initial lateral thoracic and lumbar x-rays revealed grade 1 spondylolistheses at T9-T10 and L5-S1 measuring -5.3 mm and -6.8 mm.
Interventions and outcomes:
The patient completed 60 sessions of Mirror Image® spinal adjustments, exercises, and traction over 30 weeks. Post-treatment x-rays showed correction in translations at T9-T10 and L5-S1 from -5.3 mm to 0.0 mm and -6.8 mm to -1.0 mm, within normal limits. 1-year follow-up x-rays showed maintained correction.
Conclusions:
This case is the first documented evidence of non-surgical or chiropractic treatment for thoracic and lumbosacral spondylolistheses where spinal alignment was corrected. More research is needed to investigate the clinical implications and applications.
Keywords:
Chiropractic BioPhysics; Lumbosacral spondylolisthesis; Mirror Image; Spinal Adjustments; Spinal Rehabilitation; Spinal Traction; Thoracic spondylolisthesis; sagittal spinal alignment; sagittal spinal balance; thoracic spine alignment.