Back Pain and Chiropractic:
"...patients suffering from back and/or neck
complaints experience chiropractic care
as an effective means of resolving or ameliorating
pain and functional impairments,
thus reinforcing previous results showing the benefits
of chiropractic treatment for
back and neck pain."
Source: Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics, Verhoef et al. (1997)
"...for the management of low-back pain, chiropractic
care is the most effective
treatment, and it should be fully integrated into
the government's health care system."
Source: The Manga Report (1993)
In the past year over 75% of Americans had back problems.
Almost two thirds
of those patients were more satisfied with chiropractic
therapies than the care
given by a medical doctor. Seventy percent of Americans
feel it is important to
include chiropractic in their health care plan.
ACA's Booklet, American Perception of Practitioners
& Treatments for Back
Problems
A team of researchers has identified a catch-22 of
lower back pain. Those with
lower back injuries can worsen their pain by avoiding
using hurt muscles.
Other muscles, including those in the abdomen or on
the sides of the torso,
contort to compensate, leading to greater pressure
on the spine and damaging discs.
Source: 2004 Dr. Joseph Mercola.
Back Pain Is The Leading Cause Of Limitation!
According to the National Institutes of Health (Harris
et al. 1999), lower back
pain is one of the most significant health problems
in the United States, with back
pain being the most frequent cause of activity limitation
in people younger than
45 years of age: 65-80% of all people have back pain
at some time in their life.
Source: 1995-2004 Life Extension Foundation .
Researchers state of the 300,000+ spinal disc surgeries
as many as 90% are
unnecessary and ineffective
Source: Finneson BF. A lumbar disc surgery predictive
score card: a retrospective
evaluation," Spine (1979): 141-144
Annual costs of back pain in the U.S. range from
$20 to $75 billion, and as
much as $100 billion worldwide.
Source: Bigos S, et al. Acute Low Back Problems in
Adults, Clinical Practice
Guideline No. 14. Rockville, MD: U.S. Public Health
Service, U.S. Dept. of
Health and Human Services, AHCPR Pub. No. 95-0642,
Dec. 1994
It is estimated that more people see chiropractors
for back problems than for
all other ailments combined. Chiropractic spinal manipulation
has been
recognized by the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy
and Research as an
effective therapy for acute low-back pain. Chiropractic
treatment has been
found to be more beneficial to patients with persistent
back and neck complaints
than other forms of manipulation. Research in Great
Britain found chiropractic
to provide "worthwhile, long-term benefits"
for patients with low back pain in
comparison to hospital outpatient management. This
study also found
chiropractic benefits to persist for a three-year
period, indicating long-term
benefits. For patients with uncomplicated, acute low
back pain, chiropractic
has also been found to be effective. A cost comparison
study of back-related
injuries showed the number of work days lost for patients
treated with
chiropractic to be nearly ten times less than that
of patients treated under
medical care. Also, average compensation costs for
chiropractic care were
$68.38, compared to $668.39 for patients treated with
standard, non-surgical
treatments.
Source: 1998-2004 ICBS, Inc.
Low Back Pain Facts
-
80-90%
of all adults will suffer with low back pain some
time in their life.
-
Low
back pain is the leading cause of disability for
people under 45 years
of age.
-
Low
back pain is the second leading cause of visits
to doctors' offices.
-
Low
back pain is the third leading reason for hospital
admissions.
-
Annual
costs of back pain in the U.S. range from $20-$75
billion, and as
much as $100 billion worldwide.
-
Statistics
indicate a yearly prevalence rate of 15-20% -- approximately
32 million cases.
Source: Bigos S, et al. Acute Low Back Problems in
Adults, Clinical Practice
Guideline No. 14. Rockville, MD: US Public Health
Service, US Dept. of
Health and Human Services, AHCPR Pub. No. 95-0642,
Dec. 1994.
In August 1999, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas,
presented a study aimed at
determining the cost and effectiveness of treating
back pain with chiropractic
compared with other techniques.
The results showed that 38 percent of the patients
chose to seek chiropractic
care rather than medical care.
Source: 1998-2004 ICBS, Inc.
Does Back Pain Go Away on Its Own?
Eighty percent of people suffer from back pain at
some point in their lives. Back
pain is the second most common reason for visits to
the doctor's office,
outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections.
Most cases of back pain are
mechanical or non-organic, i.e., not caused by serious
conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection,
fracture, or cancer.
What Causes Back Pain?
The back is a complicated structure of bones, joints,
ligaments, and muscles. You
can sprain ligaments, strain muscles, rupture disks,
and irritate joints, all of which
can lead to back pain. While sports injuries or accidents
can cause back pain,
sometimes the simplest of movements-for example, picking
up a pencil from the
floor-can have painful results. In addition, arthritis,
poor posture, obesity, and
psychological stress can cause or complicate back
pain. Back pain can also
directly result from disease of the internal organs,
such as kidney stones, kidney
infections, blood clots, or bone loss.
Back injuries are a part of everyday life, and the
spine is quite good at dealing
with these often "pulled" muscles. These
very minor injuries usually heal within
1 or 2 days. Some pain, however, continues. What makes
some pain last longer
is not entirely understood, but researchers suspect
that the reasons may include
stress, mood changes, and the fear of further injury
that may prevent patients from
being active. In addition, sometimes a painful injury
or disease changes the way
the pain signals are sent through the body, and, even
after the problem has gone
away or is inactive, the pain signals still reach
the brain. It is as if the pain develops
a memory that keeps being replayed.
Will Back Pain Go Away on Its Own?
Until recently, researchers believed that back pain
will "heal" on its own. We have
learned, however, that this is not true. A recent
study showed that when back pain
is not treated, it may go away temporarily but will
most likely return. The study
demonstrated that in more than 33% of the people who
experience low-back pain,
the pain lasts for more than 30 days. Only 9% of the
people who had low-back pain
for more than 30 days were pain free 5 years later.1
Another study looked at all of the available research
on the natural history of
low-back pain. The results showed that when it is
ignored, back pain does not go
away on its own.2 Those studies demonstrate that low-back
pain continues to
affect people for long periods after it first begins.
What Can I Do to Prevent Long-Term Back Pain?
If your back pain is not resolving quickly, visit
your doctor of chiropractic. Your
pain will often result from mechanical problems that
your doctor of chiropractic
can address. Many chiropractic patients with relatively
long-lasting or recurring
back pain feel improvement shortly after starting
chiropractic treatment.3 The
relief they feel after a month of treatment is often
greater than after seeing a family
physician.4
Chiropractic spinal manipulation is a safe and effective
spine pain treatment. It
reduces pain, decreases medication, rapidly advances
physical therapy, and
requires very few passive forms of treatment, such
as bed rest.5
How Can I Prevent Back Pain?
Don't
lift by bending over. Instead, bend your hips and knees
and then squat to
pick up the object. Keep your back straight, and hold
the object close to your body.
-
Don't
twist your body while lifting.
-
Push,
rather than pull, when you must move heavy objects.
-
If
you must sit for long periods, take frequent breaks
and stretch.
-
Wear
flat shoes or shoes with low heels.
-
Exercise
regularly. An inactive lifestyle contributes to
lower-back pain.
-
What
Should I Tell My Doctor of Chiropractic?
-
Before
any treatment session, tell your doctor of chiropractic
if you experience
any of the following:
-
Pain
goes down your leg below your knee.
-
Your
leg, foot, groin, or rectal area feels numb.
-
You
have fever, nausea, vomiting, stomach ache, weakness,
or sweating.
-
You
lose bowel control.
-
Your
pain is caused by an injury.
-
Your
pain is so intense you can't move around.
-
Your
pain doesn't seem to be getting better quickly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
-
Hestbaek
L, Leboeuf-Yde C, Engberg M, Lauritzen T, Bruun
NH, Manniche C.
-
The
course of low-back pain in a general population.
Results from a 5-year
prospective study. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2003
May;26(4):213-9.
-
Hestbaek
L, Leboeuf-Yde C, Manniche C. Low-back pain: what
is the
long-term course? A review of studies of general
patient populations.
Eur Spine J 2003 Apr;12(2):149-65.
-
Stig
LC, Nilsson O, Leboeuf-Yde C. Recovery pattern of
patients treated
with chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy for
long-lasting or recurrent low
back pain. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2001 May;24(4):288-91.
-
Nyiendo
J, Haas M, Goodwin P. Patient characteristics, practice
activities,
and one-month outcomes for chronic, recurrent low-back
pain treated by
chiropractors and family medicine physicians: a
practice-based feasibility study. J Manipulative
Physiol Ther 2000 May;23(4):239-45.
Time to recognize value of chiropractic care? Science
and patient satisfaction
surveys cite usefulness of spinal manipulation.
Orthopedics Today February
2003;23(2):14-15.
|
