Saguaro Pain Clinic
Questions or Request Appointment
Proven pain relief that lasts. Get your life back!
Manipulation under Anesthesia
A noninvasive treatment using a gel-like fluid (hyaluronic acid) injected into the knee joint.
What Is Manipulation under Anesthesia?
A noninvasive treatment technique used to treat acute and chronic conditions, including “frozen shoulder” or adhesive capsulitis. Injections are not performed for this procedure, instead, a certified doctor of chiropractic perform the active maneuvers and manual adjustments while the patient is under twilight IV sedation. This treatment is recommended if conservative therapies have failed and proven to increases range of motion, decreased pain, and improve daily activities of life.
Benefits of Manipulation under Anesthesia
Though it may occasionally be used to alleviate acute pain, MUA is most often recommended for patients suffering from chronic musculoskeletal problems of the back, shoulder and knee. When more conservative treatments have not resolved the problem, MUA may be considered for the following conditions:
- Chronic musculoskeletal pain
- Myofascial pain syndrome
- Chronic muscle spasms
- Frozen joints or restricted range of motion
- Ongoing pain or limited ROM after orthopedic surgery
- Nerve compression due to adhesion formation
- Chronic post-traumatic/whiplash syndrome
- Nerve entrapment
The advantages of MUA involve the fact that the patient’s body is able to be manipulated therapeutically to a degree that would be too painful if the patient were not anesthetized.
Manipulation under Anesthesia Procedure
MUA is a multidisciplinary treatment, performed by at least two collaborating specialists in an outpatient surgical setting. Practitioners who participate, including chiropractors, must have additional certification in MUA to ensure patient safety and procedure effectiveness.
MUA is administered to improve articular and soft tissue movement using controlled release, myofascial manipulation and mobilization techniques. All of this manipulation is done while the patient is sedated using monitorized anesthesia care (MAC).
The MUA procedure varies in length depending on the number of areas of the body being treated. During the treatment, the patient’s joints are artificially articulated and put through their full ranges of motion and the limbs are stretched. Low intensity, repetitive stretching normally helps to break up internal scar tissue. In some cases, however, high impulse velocity thrusts may be performed to break barriers to movement. As scar tissue is broken down, joint restriction is reduced and muscle fibers are stretched, resulting in increased range of motion. In some cases, the patient undergoes the procedure again on another day. MUA may be repeated up to four times if necessary for maximum benefit.
