William Reed DC, PhD, directs the Mechanisms of Spinal Manual Therapy laboratory (MSMT).

Globally, there is growing popularity and increased use of non-pharmacological approaches for acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain. Maximizing clinical efficacy of spinal manual therapy interventions will require a greater understanding of their underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. The primary focus of the MSMT lab is directed towards determining the peripheral and central mechanisms of spinal manual therapy (i.e. spinal manipulation/spinal mobilization) for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain and/or related disability. We use a variety of animal models, custom-made spinal manual therapy devices, behavioral and electrophysiological methods in our laboratory to investigate translationally relevant research questions with the ultimate goal of improving clinical care.