Back Pain

Back Pain and Chiropractic:

"...patients suffering from back and/or neck complaints experience chiropractic care as an effective means of resolving or ameliorating pain and functional impairments, thus reinforcing previous results showing the benefits of chiropractic treatment for back and neck pain."

Source: Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Verhoef et al. (1997)

"...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)

In the past year over 75% of Americans had back problems. Almost two thirds of those patients were more satisfied with chiropractic therapies than the care given by a medical doctor. Seventy percent of Americans feel it is important to include chiropractic in their health care plan. ACA's Booklet, American Perception of Practitioners & Treatments for Back Problems - A team of researchers has identified a catch-22 of lower back pain. Those with lower back injuries can worsen their pain by avoiding using hurt muscles. Other muscles, including those in the abdomen or on the sides of the torso, contort to compensate, leading to greater pressure on the spine and damaging discs.

Source: 2004 Dr. Joseph Mercola.

Back Pain Is The Leading Cause Of Limitation!

According to the National Institutes of Health (Harris et al. 1999), lower back pain is one of the most significant health problems in the United States, with back pain being the most frequent cause of activity limitation in people younger than 45 years of age: 65-80% of all people have back pain at some time in their life.

Source: 1995-2004 Life Extension Foundation.

Researchers state of the 300,000+ spinal disc surgeries as many as 90% are unnecessary and ineffective
Source: Finneson BF. A lumbar disc surgery predictive score card: a retrospective evaluation," Spine (1979): 141-144

Annual costs of back pain in the U.S. range from $20 to $75 billion, and as much as $100 billion worldwide.
Source: Bigos S, et al. Acute Low Back Problems in Adults, Clinical Practice Guideline No. 14. Rockville, MD: U.S. Public Health Service, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, AHCPR Pub. No. 95-0642, Dec. 1994
It is estimated that more people see chiropractors for back problems than for all other ailments combined. Chiropractic spinal manipulation has been recognized by the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research as an effective therapy for acute low-back pain. 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.

In August 1999, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas, presented a study aimed at determining the cost and effectiveness of treating back pain with chiropractic compared with other techniques.

The results showed that 38 percent of the patients chose to seek chiropractic care rather than medical care.
Source: 1998-2004 ICBS, Inc.

Does Back Pain Go Away on Its Own?

Eighty percent of people suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor's office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections. Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic, i.e., not caused by serious conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture, or cancer.

What Causes 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. In addition, sometimes a painful injury or disease changes the way the pain signals are sent through the body, and, even after the problem has gone away or is inactive, the pain signals still reach the brain. It is as if the pain develops a memory that keeps being replayed.

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.1

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.2 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.3 The relief they feel after a month of treatment is often greater than after seeing a family physician.4

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.5

How Can I Prevent Back Pain?

Don't lift by bending over. Instead, bend your hips and knees and then squat to pick up the object. Keep your back straight, and hold the object close to your body.

Don't twist your body while lifting.

Push, rather than pull, when you must move heavy objects.

If you must sit for long periods, take frequent breaks and stretch.

Wear flat shoes or shoes with low heels.

Exercise regularly. An inactive lifestyle contributes to lower-back pain.

What Should I Tell My Doctor of Chiropractic?

Before any treatment session, tell your doctor of chiropractic if you experience any of the following:

Pain goes down your leg below your knee.

Your leg, foot, groin, or rectal area feels numb.

You have fever, nausea, vomiting, stomach ache, weakness, or sweating.

You lose bowel control.

Your pain is caused by an injury.

Your pain is so intense you can't move around.

Your pain doesn't seem to be getting better quickly.
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References
Hestbaek L, Leboeuf-Yde C, Engberg M, Lauritzen T, Bruun NH, Manniche C.
The course of low-back pain in a general population. Results from a 5-year prospective study. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2003 May;26(4):213-9.
Hestbaek L, Leboeuf-Yde C, Manniche C. Low-back pain: what is the long-term course? A review of studies of general patient populations.
Eur Spine J 2003 Apr;12(2):149-65. Stig LC, Nilsson O, Leboeuf-Yde C. Recovery pattern of patients treated
with chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy for long-lasting or recurrent low back pain. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2001 May;24(4):288-91.
Nyiendo J, Haas M, Goodwin P. Patient characteristics, practice activities, and one-month outcomes for chronic, recurrent low-back pain treated by chiropractors and family medicine physicians: a practice-based feasibility study. J Manipulative Physical Therpy 2000 May;23(4):239-45.
Time to recognize value of chiropractic care? Science and patient satisfaction surveys cite usefulness of spinal manipulation. Orthopedics Today February 2003;23(2):14-15.