______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

BACK PAIN

What does the research show?

"...spinal manipulation is the safest, drugless initial form of treatment for acute low back pain in adults." The study also recommended that conservative treatment such as manipulation should be pursued before surgical interventions are considered.

                                                                        Source: AHCPR of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

"...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)

"Forty-three randomized trials of spinal manipulation for treatment of acute, sub-acute and chronic low-back pain have been published. Thirty favored manipulation over the comparison treatments... and the other thirteen found no significance difference...In most of the randomized, controlled trials of manipulation for musculoskeletal pain, the positive effect sizes appear to be clinically significant."

                                                                        Source: Meeker, Haldeman (2002) Annals of Internal Medicine

"Patients with chronic low-back pain treated by chiropractors showed greater improvement and satisfacion at one month than patients treated by family physicians. Satisfaction scores were higher for chirorpactic patients. A higher proportion of chiropractic patients (56 percent vs 13 percent) reported their low-back pain was better or much better, whereas nearly one-third of medical patients reported their low-back pain was much worse."

                                                                      Source: Nyiendo et al (2000) Journal of Manipulative and                                                                                   Physiological  Therapeutics

"Chirorpactic patients were foud to be more satisfied with their back care providers after four weeks of treatment than were medical patients. Results from observational studies suggested that back pain patients are more satisfied with chiropractic care than with medical care. Additionally, studies conclude that patients are more satisfied with chiropractic care than they were with physical therapy after six weeks."

                                                                      Source: Hertzman-Miller et al (2002) American Journal of Public                                                                                    Health

It is estimated that more people see chiropractors for back problems than for all other ailments combined. 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.

What causes low 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.

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.

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. 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. The relief they feel after a month of treatment is often greater than after seeing a family physician.

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.

                                                                      Source: J Campagna, D.C., C. Cooper, D.C.

For more information or to make your appointment today call:

714-840-CARE(2273)

;