Incidence of spinal palpatory findings: a review

Epidemiologic studies of the incidence of somatic dysfunction in a normal or asymptomatic population are needed to evaluate somatic dysfunction as an etiologic factor or as a reflection of disease. Nine studies of the incidence of spinal palpatory findings are reviewed to see if there are commonalities in the patterns of somatic dysfunction, and whether insights into the nature of spinal dysfunction can be gained by an overview of these studies.