Manipulation Under Anesthesia, or MUA, is a highly specialized, non-invasive chiropractic stretching technique for chronic pain patients who have failed to respond to long term conservative care. Manipulation Under Anesthesia works by breaking up adhesions and scar tissues to restore range of motion and mobility while the patient is in a safe, temporary twilight sedation.
MUA is one of the most exciting and effective chiropractic physical medicine procedures being performed today for the treatment of chronic and recurrent back pain, fibroblastic proliferative changes, chronic muscle spasm, failed back syndromes, herniated discs and unresolved headaches of non-organic origin. The procedure is within nationally published practice guidelines and parameters of care.
MUA expands the primary role of the chiropractic physician in chronic pain management (PM) and physical medicine. It enables the physician to provide a higher level of care, as well as an alternative to surgery and medication to their patients. When proper treatment protocols are followed, MUA consistently generates life changing results for carefully selected patients.
Manipulation under anesthesia uses a combination of specific short lever 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 manipulation procedures can be offered in any of the following ways:
The treatment is commonly performed in a hospital or ambulatory surgery center by licensed physicians with specialized training and certification specifically for the procedure. A team approach is required to have safe and successful results. The procedure can also be performed in office if the required equipment is readily available.
The team includes the anesthesiologist, the prime physician/surgeon/chiropractor who performs the manipulation, and the first assistant, also a physician/chiropractor certified in manipulation under anesthesia. The combination of manipulation and anesthesia is not new or experimental, this treatment has been part of the manual medical arena for more than 60 years.
Manipulation Under Anesthesia is an established medical procedure with a CPT Code designate of 22505. This is noted in the American Medical Association’s Current Procedural Terminology Publication.
