Manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) is a non-invasive procedure increasingly offered for acute and chronic conditions, including:
- Neck pain
- Back pain
- Joint pain
- Muscle spasm
- Shortened muscles
- Fibrous adhesions
- Long term pain syndromes
- Frozen Shoulder
- Fibromyalgia
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- TMJ Pain
Manipulation under anesthesia is generally considered safe and is utilized to treat pain arising from the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine as well as the sacroiliac and pelvic regions.
How Manipulation Under Anesthesia Works
Manipulation under anesthesia uses a combination of specific short-lever spinal manipulations, passive stretches and specific articular and postural kinesthetic maneuvers in order to break up fibrous adhesions and scar tissue around the spine and surrounding tissue.
The manipulations under anesthesia procedures are performed while in a “Twilight” sedation which is actually a “Lighter” sedation than when someone would be under when they have their wisdom teeth out.
Of course, the most obvious benefit of the anesthesia’s effects is being unconscious when movement of the affected joint is extremely and intolerably painful to the patient.
Additionally, other equally important functions are benefited by the effects of the anesthesia, include
- Shutting off the muscle spasm cycle to allow spinal movement
- Sedating the pain-perceiving nerves that have been irritated due to the dysfunctional joint mechanics.
- Allowing complete muscle relaxation to allow the doctor to stretch shortened muscle groups and to break up adhesions caused by fibrous and/or scar tissue.
The MUA treatment procedure is performed at our ambulatory surgical center in Phoenix Arizona by licensed physicians with specialized training and certification specifically for the procedure. A team approach is utilized to have a safe and successful outcome and is performed over 1 to 4 days.
At Phoenix Pain Treatment We Use a Team Approach to Manipulation Under Anesthesia.
Our team includes a board certified anesthesiologist, the prime physician/surgeon/chiropractor who performs the manipulation, and the first assistant, also a physician/chiropractor certified in manipulation under anesthesia who assists in every steps of the MUA procedure
The combination of manipulation and anesthesia is not new, manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) has been part of the manual medical arena for more than 60 years. The biggest misconception concerning the MUA procedure is that when the patient is sedated the doctor can “rip” things loose which is the furthest thing from the truth. Most manipulation under anesthesia is mostly comprised of movements to loosen the soft tissues around the joint that is affected. The actual manipulation is much much less than a manipulation than when the patient is awake and aware during a regular non sedative manipulation.
Are you a Candidate for Manipulation Under Anesthesia?
Certain neck, mid back, low back or other spinal and joint conditions that have previously responded poorly to conventional care, as a result of past or present injury, adhesions and scar tissue that have built up around spinal joints, shoulders, knees or wrists and within the surrounding muscles, which causes chronic pain. This is especially true in the shoulder joints known as Frozen shoulder.
Most MUA candidates have often undergone various treatments, such as physical therapy, chiropractic care, epidural injections, back surgery, or other treatments that do not address fibrous adhesions.
In general, patients selected for manipulation under anesthesia are those who have received conservative (nonsurgical) care for six to eight weeks. Usually if limited or no improvements in symptoms or objective findings have occurred, then you may be a candidate for manipulation under anesthesia.