::
Low
Back Pain
::
Sooner
or later, an amazing 8 of every 10 people in the United States
will suffer with low back pain. So many people have found relief
from back pain through chiropractic care that chiropractors often
are thought of as back doctors. Of course, they do specialize
in care of the spine, but spinal problems can cause not only back
pain but all sorts of health problems throughout your body. Still,
chiropractic care is indeed effective for back pain. In fact,
The US Agency for Health Care Policy and Research recently appointed
a panel of medical experts who reviewed some 3,900 studies on
care for acute low back pain. The panel rejected bedrest, surgery
(except rare cases), injections into the back, and all oral prescription
drugs (such as antidepressants or steroids). In contrast, they
found that spinal manipulation, which usually is performed by
a chiropractor, "can be helpful for patients with acute low
back problems." For pain, they found over-the-counter medications
(aspirin, etc.) worked as well as prescriptions but with fewer
side effects.
There
are fewer studies on long-term chronic back pain than short-term
acute back pain. Still, a recent study in the respected medical
journal, Spine found chiropractic care beneficial for ongoing
chronic back pain. The traditional approach for patients with
chronic back pain has been back pain school to teach patients
how to cope and live with the pain. Chiropractic care was compared
to back pain school in this study, and the chiropractic group
did significantly better. The researchers concluded, "Spinal
manipulation is clinically useful in chronic pain patients who
have been suffering for seven weeks or more."
So
many scientific and government studies have proven the effectiveness
of chiropractic care for back pain that in 1993, the government
of Ontario, in a 216-page study of all available evidence, found
chiropractic care of low back pain superior to medical management
in terms of safety, evidence of effectiveness, evidence of cost,
and patient satisfaction. If you or anyone you know wants to get
the safest, most effective, least expensive, and most satisfying
care for low back pain, consult your chiropractor.
Christopher Connell, "Back Pain," The
Associated Press, December 8, 1994. J. J. Triano, et al., "Manipulative
Therapy Versus Education in Chronic Low Back Pain," 1995,
Spine, Vol. 20, No. 8, pp. 948-955 (as reported by D. Chapman-Smith,
September 1995, The Chronic Report, Fumia Publications, Toronto,
Canada, Vol. 9, No. 5, p. 6) P. Manga, D. Agnus, et al., (1993)
"The Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness of Chiropractic
Management of Low Back Pain," Pran Manga and Associates,
University of Ottawa, Canada (as reported by Chapman-Smith, September
1993, The Chronic Report, Fumia Publications, Toronto, Vol. 7,
No. 6, p. 3).