Back Pain Relief with Chiropractic Care

Back Pain Management

Back pain is an extremely common ailment that affects nearly 80 percent of the population at any given time. Many times, this type of pain comes and goes on its own within a relatively short amount of time. However, there are occasions when back pain can become chronic and debilitating, or even worsen over time. Chiropractic care and spinal manipulation may be a treatment option to help provide relief from many types and levels of back pain.

Spinal manipulation, as a part of chiropractic care, has been shown to improve back pain and provide patients with increased mobility. When combined with additional healthy practices, such as balanced diet and exercise, chiropractic treatment of back pain can provide a significant amount of relief for many people. Chiropractic care offers an alternative to conventional treatment options in order to help manage and improve back pain.

Research also suggests that chiropractic care and treatment of both chronic and acute back pain can provide long-term benefits to patients as a part of nondrug therapy and pain reducing protocols. According to a study published in the National Library of medicine, there is evidence that chiropractic care for back pain can potentially provide more short-term pain relief than other commonly used treatment strategies, including the use of prescription medications.

Chiropractic Care for Back Pain

When seeking chiropractic care and treatment for back pain, patients should expect chiropractic care providers to assess the needs of each individual based on a variety of factors. These factors may include documented health history, injury, and physical examination. Each patient is evaluated as a whole and chiropractic care for back pain is put into place based on a goal of overall health and well being based on individual needs. This includes identifying the source of pain, factors contributing to specific back pain, and directly treating root causes.

Upon identification of specific back pain problems, chiropractors frequently incorporate spinal manipulation alongside encouragement of appropriate exercise techniques, stretching, and maintenance of proper diet. After back pain has been relieved, proper maintenance and chiropractic care is often encouraged and carried out in order to prevent similar pain and/or injury in the future. Chiropractic care for back pain ultimately works towards an overall health restoration for each patient.

Chiropractic treatment goals may be short-term, long-term, or both in order to reduce pain and restore normal body functionality. Improvement of daily living and activity levels should be expected as a part of an overall assessment and implementation of a chiropractic care plan for back pain.

References and Investigative Studies

https://nccih.nih.gov/health/pain/spinemanipulation.htm

Bronfort G, Haas M, Evans RL, et al. Efficacy of spinal manipulation and mobilization for low back pain and neck pain: a systematic review and best evidence synthesis. Spine Journal. 2004;4(3):335–356.

Acute LBP: There is moderate evidence that SMT provides more short-term pain relief than MOB and detuned diathermy, and limited evidence of faster recovery than a commonly used physical therapy treatment strategy. Chronic LBP: There is moderate evidence that SMT has an effect similar to an efficacious prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, SMT/MOB is effective in the short term when compared with placebo and general practitioner care, and in the long term compared to physical therapy. There is limited to moderate evidence that SMT is better than physical therapy and home back exercise in both the short and long term. There is limited evidence that SMT is superior to sham SMT in the short term and superior to chemonucleolysis for disc herniation in the short term. However, there is also limited evidence that MOB is inferior to back exercise after disc herniation surgery. Mix of acute and chronic LBP: SMT/MOB provides either similar or better pain outcomes in the short and long term when compared with placebo and with other treatments, such as McKenzie therapy, medical care, management by physical therapists, soft tissue treatment and back school. Acute NP: There are few studies, and the evidence is currently inconclusive. Chronic NP: There is moderate evidence that SMT/MOB is superior to general practitioner management for short-term pain reduction but that SMT offers at most similar pain relief to high-technology rehabilitative exercise in the short and long term. Mix of acute and chronic NP: The overall evidence is not clear. There is moderate evidence that MOB is superior to physical therapy and family physician care, and similar to SMT in both the short and long term. There is limited evidence that SMT, in both the short and long term, is inferior to physical therapy.

Our data synthesis suggests that recommendations can be made with some confidence regarding the use of SMT and/or MOB as a viable option for the treatment of both low back pain and NP. There have been few high-quality trials distinguishing between acute and chronic patients, and most are limited to shorter-term follow-up. Future trials should examine well-defined subgroups of patients, further address the value of SMT and MOB for acute patients, establish optimal number of treatment visits and consider the cost-effectiveness of care.

Ferreira ML, Ferreira PH, Latimer J, et al. Efficacy of spinal manipulative therapy for low back pain of less than 3 months’ duration. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2003;26(9):593–601.

To review the efficacy of spinal manipulation for low back pain of less than 3 months duration. Data sources Randomized clinical trials on spinal manipulative therapy for low back pain were identified by searching EMBASE, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro). Study selection Outcome measures of interest were pain, return to work, adverse events, disability, quality of life, and patient satisfaction with therapy. Data extraction Methodological assessment of the trials was performed using the PEDro scale. Trials were grouped according to the type of intervention, outcome measures, and follow-up time. Where there were multiple studies with sufficient homogeneity of interventions, subjects, and outcomes, the results were analyzed in a meta-analysis using a random effects model. Data synthesis Thirty-four papers (27 trials) met the inclusion criteria. Three small studies showed spinal manipulative therapy produces better outcomes than placebo therapy or no treatment for nonspecific low back pain of less than 3 months duration. The effects are, however, small. The findings of individual studies suggest that spinal manipulative therapy also seems to be more effective than massage and short wave therapy. It is not clear if spinal manipulative therapy is more effective than exercise, usual physiotherapy, or medical care in the first 4 weeks of treatment.

Spinal manipulative therapy produces slightly better outcomes than placebo therapy, no treatment, massage, and short wave therapy for nonspecific low back pain of less than 3 months duration. Spinal manipulative therapy, exercise, usual physiotherapy, and medical care appear to produce similar outcomes in the first 4 weeks of treatment.