Chiropractic is more effective than conventional hospital treatment in easing and providing long-term relief for low back pain, according to a three-year trial by researchers in the Medical Research Council epidemiology and medical care unit at St Bartholomew's Hospital medical college. Team leader Tom Meade said the results, published in tomorrow's British Medical Journal, did not mean that hospital treatment was ineffective. "We need further trials to identify the effective components of chiropractic which could then be included in hospital practice."