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And the Winner is...Chiropractic

You suffer from low back pain (LBP) and you'd like to seek a doctor's care, but you're not sure where to go. Consider this: A recent study compared the effectiveness of chiropractic care vs.

medical management for LBP and found that chiropractic care had a higher rate of success in treating LBP than did traditional medical care.

Researchers examined 2,870 adult patients with acute or chronic LBP from the practices of 51 chiropractic clinics and 14 general practice community clinics. At baseline and at various intervals over the next four years, patients rated the intensity of their current pain levels on a pain scale of 0-100 and completed a questionnaire designed to measure the effects of their pain on functional disability.

Results: The greatest degree of improvement was seen within three months of the initial treatment of back pain, with a "modest advantage" seen for chiropractic care over medical care of chronic pain patients in the first 12 months. At the one- and three-month intervals, "clinical importance" was achieved with chiropractic care administered to chronic LBP patients. Comparing chiropractic vs. medical care, the average difference in pain scores was 12.2 points at one month and 10.5 points at three months, favoring chiropractic care.

Still undecided? Chiropractic isn't just for back pain anymore. Regular chiropractic care has been shown to, among other things, relieve chronic headache and arthritis pain as well as relieve stress and promote general health. For more information on this and other studies highlighting the benefits of chiropractic, visit www.chiropracticresearchreview.com.

Reference:

Haas M, Goldberg B, Aickin M, et al. A practice-based study of patients with acute and chronic low back pain attending primary care and chiropractic physicians: two-week to 48-month follow-up. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2004;27:160-169.