To Your Health
March, 2018 (Vol. 12, Issue 03) |
|
|
A Win-Win With Chiropractic
By Editorial Staff
Imagine low back pain that lasts a few days or a few weeks. That's the type of pain most people experience when they suffer low back pain, and while it's not pleasant, it has an end point – a resolution, particularly if a chiropractor gets involved. You've probably suffered this type of back pain (acute) before, since 80 percent of people experience back pain at some point in their lives.
Now imagine low back pain that doesn't seem to go away, lasting 12 weeks or longer, even after the initial injury or cause has been treated. That's chronic low back pain. Fortunately, a chiropractor can also help chronic LBP and does it without medication, particularly prescription opioids, which account for well over 100 deaths a day due to abuse / misuse (and counting).
A study published in The Spine Journal reviewed multiple studies and found spinal manipulation, commonly utilized by doctors of chiropractic, is an effective option for chronic low back pain, reducing pain and disability compared to exercise and other strategies. Another study, this one published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, concluded that LBP patients who received chiropractic care were 55 percent less likely to fill an opioid pain prescription than patients who did not receive chiropractic care.
Chiropractic: good for low back pain and a solution for the opioid epidemic. Now that's a win-win for patients in pain and the health care system in general.
