Have you ever considered who is the
best suited to treat back pain? Since
there are so many treatment options available today, it is quite challenging to
make this decision without a little help.
To facilitate, a study looking at
this very question compared the effectiveness between medical and
chiropractic intervention. Over a
4-year time frame, 2780 patients were followed with questionnaires. Low Back
Pain patients were treated using conventional approaches by both MDs (Medical
Doctors) and DCs (Doctors of Chiropractic).
Chiropractic treatments included
spinal manipulation, physical therapy, an exercise plan, and self-care education.
Medical therapies included prescription
drugs, an exercise plan, self-care advice and about 25% of the patients
received physical therapy.
The study focused on present pain
severity and functional disability (activity interference) measured by
questionnaires mailed to the patients. It was reported that chiropractic was
favored over medical treatment in the following areas:
·
Pain
relief in the first 12 months (more evident in the chronic patients)
·
When
LBP pain radiated below the knee (more evident in the chronic patients)
·
Chronic
LBP patients with no leg pain (during the first 3 months)
Similar trends favoring chiropractic
were seen for disability but were of smaller magnitude. All patient groups saw significant improvement in both pain and
disability over the four year study period.
Acute patients saw the greatest
degree of improvement with many achieving symptom relief after 3 months of
care.
This study also found early
intervention reduced chronic pain and, at year 3, those acute LBP patients who
received early intervention reported fewer days of LBP than those who waited
longer for treatment.
While both MDs and DCs treatment approaches helped, it's quite clear from the information reported that chiropractic should be utilized first.
These findings support the importance of early intervention by chiropractic physicians and make the most sense for those of you struggling with the question of who to see for your LBP.
While both MDs and DCs treatment approaches helped, it's quite clear from the information reported that chiropractic should be utilized first.
These findings support the importance of early intervention by chiropractic physicians and make the most sense for those of you struggling with the question of who to see for your LBP.
