Specific protocol for the procedure has been developed by academic institutions and national and international organizations towards an effort to recognize training programs and clinical outcomes that establish a safe and effective means of implementing this procedure across the country in appropriate hospital and ambulatory surgical settings. Most recently the International MUA Academy of Physicians was organized to provide an avenue for the dissemination of valid and authoritative database of current research and new scientific developments in the field of Manipulation Under Anesthesia for physicians dealing with chronic difficult cases through efforts to develop evidence-based principles for MUA clinical application and practice
It has been well documented in the medical literature for well over forty years that chronic unresolved non-surgical musculoskeletal conditions respond well to manipulation under anesthesia. MUA is a procedure designed to restore the lost range of motion of the spine and extremities and to reduce scar tissue in soft tissues and peri and intra articular structures which results in articular dyskinesia.
The restoration of motion and the reduction of scar tissue results in more flexibility and visco-elasticity of the paraspinal musculature and associated articulations thereby increasing the functional capacity of the patient. MUA is a procedure utilized in a selected patient population which has been recalcitrant to an adequate trial of conservative care in the office setting.