By: Dr. Dean Lombardo, DC
About 31 million Americans experience low back pain at any given time. Worldwide, back pain is the single leading cause of disability, preventing many people from engaging in work as well as other everyday activities.
Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work. One-half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year. Back pain accounts for more than 264 million lost work-days in one year—that’s two work-days for every full-time worker in the country. Experts estimate that up to 80% of the population will experience back pain at some time in their lives. Back pain can affect people of all ages, from adolescents to the elderly. Back pain is the third most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, behind skin disorder, Arthritis and joint disorders. Most cases of back pain are not caused by serious conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer
Most people with low back pain recover, however recurrence is common and for a small percentage of people, the condition will become chronic and Disabling. Low back pain costs Americans at least $50 billion in health care costs each year – add in lost wages and decreased productivity and that figure easily rises to more than $100 billion.
What causes Back Pain
- Sprained Ligaments
- Strain Muscles
- Ruptured Disks
- Irritated Joints
- Sports Injuries
- Accidents
- Simple Movements
- Arthritis
- Poor Posture
- Obesity
- Kidney Stones
- Kidney infections
- Repetitive Motions
- ALL CAUSE DYSFUNCTION OF THE SPINE
Why is Chiropractic so special
Chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure (movement of the spine) and function (coordinated by the nervous system and how this relationship affects health). Chiropractors are often sought out to provide relief from pain, especially the back, neck and joints.
Chiropractic case management protocol includes:
- Specific spinal analysis
- Physical, neurological, orthopedic examinations and
- consultation
- Specific restoration of normal biomechanics by means of
- the adjustment, soft tissue manipulation, and ancillary
- therapies
- Referral for co-management if appropriate
- Appropriate attention to ergonomical considerations and
- other possible causes of biomechanical dysfunction
Back Pain Treatment:
Among 23 options for treatment of low back pain, spinal Adjustments and the use of NSAIDS had the most beneficial effect.
The Federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) recommended that low back pain sufferers choose the most conservative care first. It recommended spinal manipulation as the only safe and effective, non-drug form of initial professional treatment for acute low back problems in adults.
A well-respected review of the evidence in the Annals of Internal Medicine pointed to chiropractic care as one of the major non-drug therapies considered effective for acute and chronic low back pain.
Conclusion:
Satisfaction with treatment! In conditions dealing with back pain, patient satisfaction has been shown to be greater with chiropractic treatment over conventional management (PCP,HMO provider or orthopedist).
