Study: Chiropractic + Medical Care Is Better Than Standard Medical Care Alone

Doctors of chiropractic are trained in a 4 year doctorate program to diagnose and use treatments like spinal manipulation, physiotherapies, rehabilitation, and lifestyle/diet/nutrition advice. These treatment options have been shown to be safe interventions which provide benefit for a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions. 

Standard medical treatment for back pain includes therapies like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids, injections, spinal surgery, and many others which have not been shown to be very effective for back pain while posing many risks. 

Due to the limited effectiveness of standard medical care and with the United States opioid crisis becoming more relevant, many of the recommendations and guidelines are shifting toward more natural treatments for pain (chiropractic care, acupuncture, physical therapy, etc.). More research is being done on these natural therapies to understand more about their benefits and how to use them to manage the opioid crisis. 

A new study out of published in JAMA's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation found some excellent results showing that chiropractic care may be an excellent addition to optimize pain and function for low back pain, furthering the improvements seen from a standard medical treatment (medications, pain referral, self care recommendations, etc.). 

The Study:

  • This study looked at US military medical centers and the treatment results for 750 patients with low back pain

  • The results of standard medical care were compared with medical + chiropractic care after 6 weeks of treatment.

  • The outcome measures that were used include the following: pain & disability questionnaires, perceived improvement, satisfaction from care, and medication use.

The Results: 

When compared to usual medical care alone, those receiving medical + chiropractic care had..

  • Better improvements inpain & disability

  • More satisfaction with care

  • Better perceived improvement from care

  • Less pain medication use

The Bottom Line

This is a very important study when relating it to the safe and effective management of low back pain with the goal of controlling the opioid crisis. The study showed clear improvements in all measures when chiropractic care was added to the usual medical treatment. More research is needed to fully optimize treatment interventions, but this study further reinforces that chiropractic care could be an extremely promising strategy when added to usual medical care for the treatment of low back pain while reducing the usage of opioid medications. 

To check out the study, click here. 

1. Goertz C, Long C, Vining R. Chiropractic Care vs Usual Medical Care Alone on Pain and Disability Among US Service Members with Low Back Pain: A Comparative Effectiveness Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open. 2018;1(1):e180105. doi:10.1001

 

 

Blake Pennock