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Chiropractic More Effective Than “Usual Care” For Back Pain

June 25, 2008 | Filed Under Back Pain, Chiropractic Studies |

A recent article in Lippincott’s Bone and Joint Newsletter published an article on the effectiveness of chiropractic for acute back pain. The article discusses the work of Dr. Paul Bishop, DC, PhD, MD, a professor of orthopedics at the University of British Columbia.

The work presented by Dr. Bishop at the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine in Hong Kong states:

“This is the first randomized controlled trial demonstrating that full clinical practice guidelines care including chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy produces more favorable patient outcomes than family physician-directed care in acute low back pain patients.”

Bishop and his colleagues studied 88 patients with acute back pain. The patients were assigned to either a “guidelines-based” chiropractic group or a “usual care” group by family physicians.

“The guidelines-based care included reassurance, avoidance of passive treatments, acetaminophen for pain control, four weeks of twice-weekly spinal manipulation, and return-to-work within eight weeks.”

The outcome measure used was the Roland Morris Questionnaire, and the authors found that the chiropractic patients experienced a significantly greater improvement (2.52 points on the Roland Morris) compared to the “usual care” group (.25 on the Roland Morris).

The authors reported that “usual care” treatment offered by most primary care physicians was not based on the science of back pain (it was, in Bishop’s words, “highly guideline-discordant).

“Typically, the family physician-based care involved excessive use of passive therapies such as massage and passive physical therapy, excessive bed rest, and excessive use of narcotic analgesics, Bishop added.”

8 Comments »

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  1. Great proof for an skeptics who doubt the efficacy of chiropractic care.

    Comment by Dr. Michael Beck — June 26, 2008 #

  2. Nice job! Thanks for compiling this information.

    Comment by Chiropractic Sacramento — July 4, 2008 #

  3. Great study that affirms the effectiveness of chiropractic care.

    Comment by chiropractic san francisco — December 3, 2008 #

  4. Another safe and pain-free way to treat chronic back pain, without the dangers of surgery, is SPINAL DECOMPRESSION.

    Over 40 years ago, research began to be pioneered by Dr. James Cox, which today has revolutionized both the Osteopathic and Chiropractic
    disciplines. His painstaking work has demonstrated thousands of successful recoveries from back, neck, leg, and arm pain (in scientific journals) without surgery or drugs.

    I’m proud to have traveled and trained under Dr. Cox myself and, in addition to being certified in all his techniques…ours is the only office in this are offering his newest instruments for decompression of the neck and upper back, in addition to the lumbar spine.

    There are 4 Proven, positive, sustainable, and sometimes life-changing
    effects:

    1. Increasing Disc Height (improving disc circulation)
    2. Decreasing pressure on the disc center (up to 192mmHG)
    3. Increasing space for the exiting spinal nerves
    4. Restoring normal joint motion

    I would look into this method of treatment BEFORE SURGERY. My office uses the newest machine out, the Extentrac Elite (With M3D® technology) to treat our patients. I suggest you look at our website for more information to help you make some decisions.

    All the best,
    Dr. Kate Crews

    http://www.advancedbacksolutions.net
    http://www.drkatecrews.com

    Comment by Dr. Kate Crews — April 27, 2009 #

  5. Wow 2.52 points for the chiropractors vs. only 0.25 points for the primary care physicians… that’s quite a difference :)

    Comment by Mississauga Chiropractic — May 1, 2009 #

  6. I agree with what you are saying and like what you are doing.

    Comment by Dr. Rich Casabona — August 11, 2009 #

  7. Also, CBS news recently ranked chiropractic #1 for back pain! Great video and great media for chiropractic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0sUyKpe6L4

    http://www.gallatinvalleychiropractic.com
    http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=1168856000526488841&q=gallatin+valley+chiropractic&hl=en&cd=1&cad=src:pplink&ei=HGR9S6iALIjusAO5g4mrCg

    Comment by Gallatin Valley Chiropractic — March 5, 2010 #

  8. Can you please post what are the differences between a good and bad chiropractor. Currently in some circles chiropractic care is still viewed and alchemy that does not work.

    What should people who are trying chiropractic care for the first time look for in a chiropractor?

    Comment by Mississauga Chiropractor — April 29, 2010 #

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