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 (initial, 2-week, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 month intervals) with
questionnaires. Both acute (symptoms
<7weeks) and chronic (symptoms >7weeks) low back pain (LBP) patients were
treated using conventional approaches by both the MDs and the DCs. Treatments from the chiropractors 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 that were 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. Noteworthy, at the 3 year point, ½
to ¾ of all the patients reported at least 30 days of pain during the prior
year including those that responded well after early treatment. Also, 19 to 27% of chronic LBP patients noted
daily pain during the prior year. This
suggests that LBP is more likely to return at times in the future, which many
have similarly reported to be true.
However,
this study also found that early intervention reduced chronic pain and, at year
3, those acute LBP patients that received early intervention reported fewer
days of LBP that those that waited longer for treatment. While both MDs and DCs treatment approaches
helped, it’s quite clear from the information reported that chiropractic
treatment approaches should be utilized first.
These
findings support the importance of early intervention by chiropractic
physicians makes the most sense for those of you struggling with the question
of who to see for your LBP.
Blessings,
Troy Don, DC
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