Chiropractic Care Safe And Effective For Low Back Pain Treatment
Chiropractic Care Is Proven To Be A Safe An Effective Low Back Pain Treatment
If you are experiencing low back pain, you are not alone. It is estimated 80 percent of Americans will experience low back pain at some point in their lives, and that 31 percent suffer from the condition at any given time. Fifty percent of adults suffer from low back pain each year, and 85 percent of those younger than 50 will experience at least one episode of back pain in any given year. Children are not exempt from episodes of back pain, with 24 percent of children reporting having low back pain. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that more than 13,260 backpack injuries were treated in 2000.
Low Back Pain Treatment, Symptoms and diagnosis
Symptoms of low back pain can range from a muscle ache to shooting pain down the leg, limited range of motion and flexibility, or inability to stand upright. After performing a thorough medical exam, your health care provider may also recommend an MRI or CT scan, X-rays, tests to evaluate whether the nerves are working properly or bone scans.
Warning signs signaling emergency low back pain treatment, called cauda equina syndrome, include difficulty passing or controlling your bladder; saddle numbness; numbness, pins or needles, or weakness in both legs; or foot drop. If you experience these symptoms, go directly to the emergency room. Permanent neurologic impairment can result if these symptoms are left untreated.
Causes of low back pain
Low back pain affects men and women at any age but most often occurs between the ages of 30 and 50. It is the second most common neurological problem in the United States and can be caused by a sports injury, working around the house or garden, or trauma such as a car accident. Conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis or congenital abnormalities can also cause pain, as well as obesity, bad posture, poor sleeping positions, weight gain during pregnancy or poor physical condition.
The causes of lower back pain fall into three categories: mechanical (94 percent), disc or nerve (5 percent) and organic (1 percent). Mechanical lower back pain involves bones, muscles, joints or ligaments. Examples of pain stemming from disc or nerve origins include muscle spasm, spinal stenosis (a congenital narrowing of the spinal canal) and sciatica. Organic causes are related to another body system, such as the digestive or genitourinary system. Examples of an organic source of low back pain include appendicitis, kidney stones or a urinary tract infection.
Low Back Pain Treatment
Pain is a protection mechanism for the body and it occurs wherever tissues are being damaged. Pain causes us to react in such a way as to remove the pain stimulus. Understanding the purpose of pain is important for overcoming low back pain for good. Pain can be acute, defined as occurring for less than 30 days, or chronic, defined as occurring for months to years. The treatment for acute pain includes decreasing the inflammation; PRICE (protection, rest, ice, compression and elevation) and spinal manipulation.
Chronic pain accounts for 90 percent of the costs associated with low back pain. Chronic pain leads to decreased movement, weakness and tightness. Treatment therefore includes spinal manipulation, strength training, and flexibility and stretching.
Bed Rest: Has Not Been Found To Be An Effective Low Back Pain Treatment
Bed rest is not an effective low back pain treatment. Inactivity causes joint stiffness, muscle weakness, decreased physical fitness and depression. Bed rest can actually increase the pain, which makes it much harder to get going again.
Medication For Low Back Pain Treatment
Medication does not cure lower back pain, it merely covers it up. The side effects of medication such as NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) include potential damage to the gastrointestinal system, liver, kidney and heart. The average person suffering from low back pain takes two 250 milligrams of over-the-counter NSAIDs, twice a day, for 15 days each month. That equals 180,000 mgs a year. At the end of seven years, that’s over 1.2 million milligrams and is the equivalent of almost 3 pounds of pain killers.
Chiropractic Care Is A Safe And Effective Form Of Low Back Pain Treatment
Chiropractic spinal manipulation is a safe and effective low back pain treatment. It reduces pain, decreases medication and requires very few passive forms of treatment, such as bed rest.
In December 2004, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, a federal government research organization, recommended spinal manipulation as the only safe and effective drugless form of initial professional treatment for acute low back problems in adults. Clinical practice guidelines from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society include spinal manipulation as a treatment for acute and chronic low back pain.
The role of surgery
Thirty-one thousand lumbar spine surgeries are performed each year at an estimated cost of over $8 billion. Only one in five, or 20%, of those undergoing low back surgery will return to work.
The benefits of chiropractic care for low back pain treatment
Chiropractic is the fastest-growing and second largest primary health care profession. There are approximately 60,000 doctors of chiropractic actively practicing in the United States. With over 30 million visits per year, Americans routinely choose chiropractic services.
The basic premise of chiropractic care is this: humans are created with an inborn, innate or God-given intelligence that runs, regulates, coordinates, heals and controls every function in the body through the nervous system. Chiropractic care is founded on the scientific principle that when the spine is aligned, the nervous system and, therefore, the body, can reach its peak level of performance.
Any time a vertebra (spinal segment) is not positioned correctly, the brain and body cannot communicate properly. The misaligned vertebra, or subluxation, places pressure on the nerve, causing it to function at less than 100 percent efficiency. It has been found that compression as light as the weight of a dime on a nerve can cause decreased nerve function. A skilled chiropractor is trained to detect and treat these subluxations.
Chiropractic care is effective for low back pain treatment, as shown by a study reported in 2007 in the Journal of Manipulative Physiology Therapy. When compared with conventional medicine over a seven-year period, independent physician associations whose primary care physicians were exclusively doctors of chiropractic reported a decrease in hospital admissions of 60.2 percent and a decrease in hospital days by 59 percent.
Doctors of chiropractic had 625 less outpatient surgeries and procedures, and 85 percent less in pharmaceutical costs. The study also showed chiropractic treatment was more effective than hospital outpatient management for patients with chronic or severe back pain. Yet another study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reported that a higher percentage of chiropractic patients—over 400 percent—reported their low back pain was better or much better, whereas nearly one-third of medical patients reported their low back pain was worse or much worse.
“There is no clinical or case-control study that demonstrates or even implies that chiropractic spinal manipulation is unsafe in the treatment of low back pain.”
The Magna Report of 1993 reported the following conclusions about the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic care for low back pain treatment:
*Spinal manipulation applied by chiropractors is shown to be more to be more effective than alternative treatments for low back pain. Many medical therapies are of questionable validity or are clearly inadequate.
*There is no clinical or case-control study that demonstrates or even implies that chiropractic spinal manipulation is unsafe in the treatment of low back pain.
*There is an overwhelming body of evidence indicating that chiropractic management of low back pain is more cost effective than medical management.
*There would be a highly significant cost savings if more management of low back pain was transferred from medical physicians to chiropractors.
*A very good case can be made for making chiropractors the gatekeepers for management of low back pain in the Workers’ Compensation system.
Low Back Pain Treatment: 7 steps to overcoming your low back pain for good
Now that you have the facts about low back pain, you have a blueprint for taking control of your pain and moving on to a better quality of life. You are now ready to take the seven steps to overcoming your low back pain for good.
1. Preserve the curve. Understand the biomechanics of the spine.
2. Restore proper intersegmental motion to the spine.
3. Stretch low back-specific tight muscles.
4. Strengthen low back-specific weak muscles.
5. Utilize proper lifting and workplace ergonomics.
6. Apply sound nutrition and weight management principles.
7. Make regular exercise a priority.
Overcoming your low back pain for good requires assembling a team. Team members may include a Doctor of Chiropractic, a fitness instructor, a nutritional counselor and a primary care physician. Together, you and your team can treat the whole body by combining traditional chiropractic techniques with massage, physical therapy and nutritional guidance.
But the most important member of the team is you! You will need to commit to taking the responsibility to start new lifestyle habits and stop old lifestyle habits. If you make this commitment, you will overcome your low back pain and be on your way to enjoying a better quality of life. Considering chiropractic care as your low back pain treatment, is no longer a luxury, but may be a necessity.
If you or someone you know is suffering needlessly, you may want to consider chiropractic care for your low back pain treatment.
