The Medical Establishment Finally Admits Chiropractic Improves Patients’ Lower Back Pain and More!
There have been dozens of studies over the last 20+ years showing how effective chiropractic care is for the treatment of neck pain, lower back pain, headaches, sciatica and more. Chiropractic care is not only more effective, meaning it gives people faster, longer-lasting relief from their pain, but also more cost effective. That means it costs you less money to get well.
These studies for the most part have fallen on deaf ears, meaning the medical establishment as well as the press would ignore these studies. They even offer rebuttals saying “more research is needed,” “see your medical doctor first,” or even that the study must have been somehow flawed.
After the research piles up, sooner or later you cannot ignore it anymore.
Who Are the Major Players in this Research?
The American College of Physicians is a large group of medical doctors. From their website: “ACP is a national organization of internists, the largest medical-specialty organization, and second-largest physician group in the United States. Our 148,000 members include internists, internal medicine subspecialists, medical students, residents, and fellows.”
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is the journal published by the American Medical Association (who have a history of being anti-chiro). According to their website: “JAMA, which began publication in 1883, is an international peer-reviewed general medical journal. Key objective is to promote the science and art of medicine and the betterment of the public health.” They really exist to promote the betterment of medical doctors but that is a topic for another time!
Psychology Today is a popular psychology publication. According to their site: “Psychology Today is devoted exclusively to everybody’s favorite subject: Ourselves. On this site, we have gathered a group of renowned psychologists, academics, psychiatrists and writers to contribute their thoughts and ideas on what makes us tick. We’re a live stream of what’s happening in ‘psychology today’.”
When you read the articles below, you will read “spinal manipulation” or “SMT.” In the United States, 94% of spinal manipulation is provided by chiropractic physicians. Another way mainstream medicine avoids coming out and saying “chiropractic.” Substitute “chiropractor or chiropractic” wherever you read spinal manipulation.
American College of Physicians Issues Guidelines for Lower Back Pain Treatment
The American College of Physicians (ACP) published a new lower back pain treatment guideline. It recommends first using non-invasive, non-drug treatments, including spinal manipulation, before resorting to drug therapies. The guideline was published Feb. 14, 2017 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
On May 1, 2017, the New York Times published an editorial by Aaron E. Carroll, M.D., that mentions the new guideline in a generally positive light. The article is generally positive and appeared in a major, mainstream publication read by millions of people. “Spinal manipulation—along with other less traditional therapies like heat, meditation and acupuncture—seems to be as effective as many other more medical therapies we prescribe, and as safe, if not safer,” he wrote.
Talking points on new ACP guideline:
- The chiropractic profession has advocated for decades that conservative care choices such as chiropractic be the first line of treatment for lower back pain. Now, with this new guideline, the medical profession is recognizing the benefits of conservative care for this huge, worldwide problem.
- Thanks to this guideline, it’s possible more everyday medical doctors will choose to refer their patients with lower back pain to chiropractors.
Article and Editorial on Spinal Manipulation Published in JAMA
The April 11, 2017 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association(JAMA) featured the article “Association of Spinal Manipulative Therapy With Clinical Benefit and Harm for Acute Low Back Pain.”
This systematic review and meta-analysis found that of the 26 eligible RCTs (Randomized Controlled Trials) identified, 15 RCTs (1,711 patients) provided moderate-quality evidence that SMT (chiropractic) has a statistically significant association with improvements in pain. Twelve RCTs (1,381 patients) produced moderate-quality evidence that SMT has a statistically significant association with improvements in function. One of the RCT’s included in this analysis, which was called “Adding chiropractic manipulative therapy to standard medical care for patients with acute low back pain: results of a pragmatic randomized comparative effectiveness study,” was led by investigators at the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research.
Interestingly, an editorial by Richard A. Deyo, M.D., M.P.H., titled “The Role of Spinal Manipulation in the Treatment of Low Back Pain,” was published in the April 11 issue of JAMA. “If manipulation is at least as effective and as safe as conventional care, it may be an appropriate choice for some patients with uncomplicated acute low back pain,” wrote Dr. Deyo. “This is an area in which a well-informed patient’s decisions should count as much as a practitioner’s preference.”
A National Public Radio story on April 11 quoted Dr. Paul Shekelle, a medical internist with the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center and one of the study authors, as saying the JAMA study found patients undergoing spinal manipulation experienced a decline of one point in their pain rating. He added that the study also found spinal manipulation modestly improved function.
Article and Editorial on Spinal Manipulation Published in STAT News
An article published April 4 in STAT News, a medical journal, discussed the ACP guideline and how it’s strengthening the cause of non-pharmaceutical pain control methods like chiropractic care and acupuncture. Another article published May 10 in STAT News covered proposed FDA recommendations that medical physicians learn more about chiropractic, acupuncture and other drug-free pain treatments as therapies to help patients avoid prescription opioids.
Article on Chiropractors Helping with Lower Back Pain Published on Psychology Today
On May 19, the Psychology Today website ran a piece about new research on chiropractors helping people with lower back pain. This article, “The Evolving Evidence on Chiropractors for Low Back Pain,” covered the ACP guideline and its recommendation for conservative care first, as well as the Annals of Internal Medicine systematic review that found evidence spinal manipulation (chiropractic) helps to reduce pain for people with chronic lower back pain (pain more than 90 days). It finished by saying, “On the whole, the evidence suggests that seeing a chiropractor can reduce pain levels and increase function for people with chronic low back pain.”
At our clinic we use spinal manipulation in addition to massage therapy, laser therapy, physical therapy, vibration therapy, and much more!
This is the most positive press chiropractic has received in a short period of time in the history of our profession. Now is the time to utilize the effective, safe services of a chiropractic physician. Give us a call at (847) 854-2000 and set up a consultation for your lower back pain in Algonquin, IL today!
You and your family deserve great health!
Be Well!
