The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association
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J Am Osteopath Assoc · Feb 2005
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyIntramuscular ketorolac versus osteopathic manipulative treatment in the management of acute neck pain in the emergency department: a randomized clinical trial.
Ketorolac tromethamine injected intramuscularly (IM) has been shown to be an effective analgesic in treating patients with acute musculoskeletal pain in the emergency department (ED). The authors compare the efficacy of a single dose of IM ketorolac to osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) as delivered in the ED for the management of acute neck pain. A randomized clinical trial was conducted in three EDs. ⋯ When comparing pain relief at one hour posttreatment, there was no significant difference between the OMT and ketorolac study groups (P=.10). The authors found that, at one hour posttreatment, OMT is as efficacious as IM ketorolac in providing pain relief and significantly better in reducing pain intensity. The authors conclude that OMT is a reasonable alternative to parenteral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication for patients with acute neck pain in the ED setting.