Challenging the main reason that people decide to go to chiropractors, new research shows that spinal manipulations ease back pain no better than specialised physiotherapy and only slightly better than doing nothing at all.

The findings of the study, led by researchers from the University of Washington, are contrary to the growing acceptance of chiropractic spinal manipulation as a treatment for acute lower back pain. In recent years, federal health officials in the United States have endorsed such treatment, and many US insurance companies now pay for it.

The research tracked 321 patients diagnosed with back pain …