Groundbreaking chiropractic research

With two groundbreaking projects on the go, and one internationally recognised success, 2005 is set to be an exciting year for chiropractor and Macquarie University PhD student Andrew Vitiello.

Chiropak

PhD student Andrew Vitiello

Vitiello first made headlines in 2003 through his redesign of the Chiropak. Working together with Associate Professor Rod Bonello and Dr Henry Pollard, Vitiello’s brief was to test a bag designed by the Spartan Bag Company. Using electrode myography the team were able to see how muscles responded to the Chiropak. The bag was then redesigned with two distinctive features - an internal spine and a hip strap.

Chiropak was endorsed by the Chiropractors Association of Australia before being named one of the best backpacks in the world by the American Chiropractic Association.

Vitiello was stunned when the Chiropak received international recognition. “I almost fell off my chair,” he says. “Our aim was to improve it, we just wanted to help kids.”

The Chiropak is now sold internationally by Samsonite and can also be purchased by visiting www.chiropak.com

ENAR (Electro-Neuro-Adaptive-Regulator)

Over the last year Vitiello has been involved in testing ENAR, a treatment device for pain which was originally developed for the Russian Space Program.

“There was a lot of anecdotal evidence that it worked for a range of illnesses and disabilities,” says Vitiello. “Our aim was to choose one condition that was quite common and classically very difficult to treat.”

Vitiello and his colleagues (Bonello and Pollard) selected chronic neck pain for the pilot study. Twenty-four people who had not received therapy for three months were divided into three groups. The first group were treated with Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) therapy, another group received ENAR, and the control group were not treated at all.

The ENAR works with positive and negative electrodes. The device, which is the size of a mobile phone, is switched on and applied to the point of pain.

“We followed participants over six weeks and measured things like pain intensity, functional capabilities, quality of life and neck disability,” explains Vitiello. “We treated them intensively and then left them alone.”

Results showed that people who received the TENS therapy were no better off than if they received no therapy at all. People who received the ENAR therapy found that not only had their pain levels improved so had their functional capabilities and quality of life.

“This is very, very exciting because it has proved to be quite an effective tool in reducing pain,” says Vitiello. “From a clinician’s point of view, if you ease pain, you can get onto rehabilitation much quicker.”

New Backpack

This month will see the launch of a new Chiropractic and Osteopathic College of Australasia (COCA) endorsed backpack in time for the 2005 school year. While the project is still under wraps, Vitiello utilised the skills he learnt throughout his PhD to design a backpack from scratch. “We are excited about this bag because it has the potential to grow with the student,” says Vitiello.

2005

As well as working full time, Vitiello will submit his thesis and conduct further research into ENAR during 2005. “I am juggling a few balls but I am excited about doing these things because it helps build the profile of Macquarie University, especially in a field we haven’t classically been involved in. We are now in the front line of clinical trials as the only University in the world who is testing the ENAR.”

For further information contact Vitiello’s supervisor Associate Professor Rod Bonello: rod.bonello@mq.edu.au

More Health stories here