At some time in our lives, it is estimated that, 8 out of every 10 people will suffer from low back pain. The cause of this pain may take many different forms thus resulting in different treatments. These conditions may be acute or chronic resulting from obvious trauma or from years of bad posture. Low back pain may be accompanied by (sciatica) shooting, burning, tingling, or radiating pain. These sensations can be caused by a disc herniation, subluxation, arthritis, muscle entrapment syndromes, and age or trauma associated disc degeneration. As the 1997 Netherland Van Tulder study showed from a review of 48 randomized controlled trials chiropractic was more effective than the general practitioner, bed rest, analgesics, and massage for accute and chronic low back pain. A 1995 study publish in the British Medical Journal compared chiropractic to hospital care for low back pain and the research showed the chiropractors had a 29% greater improvement than hospital care for low back pain patients. Study after study around the world has shown chiropractic care to be the care of choice for cost effectiveness and speed of recover with no harmful medicine side effects.
Further Research Studies in Low Back Pain Supporting Chiropractic as First Choice in Treatment:
- Van Tubler M. Conservative treatment of acute and chronic nonspecific low back pain: a systemic review of randomized controlled trials of the most common interventions. Spine vol 22. no 18:2128-56.
- Shekelle P. The use and costs of chiropractic care in the health insurance experiment. Santa Monica: Rand Corp.
- Shekelle P. Spinal Manipulation for low-back pain. Annals of Internal Medicine 1992. vol 117. no 7:590-98.
- Shekelle P. The appropriateness of spinal manipulation for low back pain: project overview and literature review. 1991 Santa Monica: Rand Corp.
- Shekelle P. Congruence between decisions to initiate chiropractic spinal manipulation for low back pain and appropriateness criteria in north america. 1998 Annal of Internal Medicine. vol 129. no 1:9-17.
- Bigos S. Acute low back problems in adults: clinical practice guidelines No. 14 Rockville: Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Erhard R. Relative effectiveness of an extension program and a combined program of manipulation and flexion and extension exercises in patients with acute low back syndrome. 1994 Physical Therapy vol 74. no. 12:1093-1100.
- Bronfort G. Spinal manipulation: current state of research and its indications. 1999 Neurologic Clinics of North America. vol 17 no. 1:91-111.