Husson Professor Chad Howland Published in Journal of Manual and Manipulative Therapy

Published on: November 10, 2025

The Journal of Manual and Manipulative Therapy published a peer-reviewed study conducted by Husson’s Dr. Chad Howland and Dr. Karen Huhn from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on nationwide teaching strategies of thrust joint manipulation.

The study, titled “Contemporary Perspectives in Teaching and Assessment of Thrust Joint Manipulation of the Spine or Pelvis in Entry-Level Doctor of Physical Therapy Programs,” looked at the curricula of nearly 300 accredited physical therapy education programs across the country. Their goal was to see how different programs taught thrust joint manipulation, a technique used in physical therapy to reduce pain and increase function in the spine and pelvis.

“The hallmark of the study is that we interviewed faculty from other parts of the country to see what they considered to be entry-level competencies in thrust joint manipulation by the time students graduate,” said Howland.

Of the 274 programs the study looked at, 84 also participated in an optional survey about their particular teaching. Fifteen faculty members from the participating programs also took part in direct interviews.

The study found that while entry-level teaching programs have adopted thrust-joint manipulation into their curriculum, most programs lack the specificity in different parts of the spine to be as effective as possible. In particular, many programs were not teaching cervical manipulation, or that of the upper spine and neck. 

“That information was important to give perspective on the variety of joint manipulation, because one given technique is not necessarily good for everybody,” said Howland. “We wanted a more patient-focused approach.”

The American Physical Therapy Association’s Guide to Physical Therapist Practice, the leading resource on professional physical therapy, hasn’t updated their section on thrust joint manipulation since 2013. Howland hopes that this study will help push APTA to revise.

“It’s never really been revised,” said Howland. “Let’s see what we can do to bring it up to modern tech and teaching.”

— Rin Gately