Apr 20

The Supermarket of Back Pain Care Options: How to Choose?

“Supermarkets” are great for gathering food but not necessarily for getting relief of back pain, understanding the basis of back pain, nor waking up each day and functioning with hope. A new back pain sufferer can get lost in this “supermarket” of healthcare choices. Researchers came up with this comparison of back pain care options to goods on a shelf in a supermarket as they saw this at their meetings where the latest in back pain care approaches were touted with each approach’s supporters sharing their outcomes and protocols (some with solid, accurately presented research evidence, some without). (1) It’s no wonder that back pain sufferers – who are not alone with a lifetime likelihood of low back pain for all of us being 85% (2) – are overwhelmed. That’s where our teamwork comes into play. You share your expectations. We’ll share the best evidence to create a treatment plan to help you recover. Researchers studied patient preferences and goals for non-surgical treatment of chronic low back pain and reported that these are critical to patient outcomes. (3) YOUR goals of care are important: Do you want to walk further? Sleep better? Understand your pain better? YOUR preferences for care are important: Do you want manipulation? Supervised therapy? Talk to a therapist? As your chiropractor, I want to know them. They will direct your care and improve your clinical outcomes. We know that conservative care for 4 to 6 weeks is recommended (in the absence of progressive neurological deficits and/or cauda equina syndrome) before imaging. (4) We also know that spinal manipulation is one of the top conservative recommended treatments. (5) When you are suffering with back pain, let us be your personal shopper, finding you the approach to help YOU best!

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Kurt Olding  on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes both The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management as well as the healthcare path for back pain relief that is often confusing and non-congruent with current recommendations for the non-surgical, conservative care of back pain. 

TIP OF THE MONTH: Consider Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric

Turmeric (curcuma longa L.) is a plant well-recognized for its anti-inflammatory aspects due to its polyphenolic cucuminoids. In a scoping review of published papers, researchers concluded that current evidence is great that suggests clinical benefit from taking turmeric for its anti-inflammatory benefits, particularly in inflammation-associated diseases like obesity-related metabolic disorders or musculoskeletal disorders (like back and neck pain). (6) Researchers always call for more research to definitively recommend dosages and formulations. In the meantime, let’s chat about how turmeric’s addition to your nutrition plan may benefit your pain relief and healing.

Call today to make your next appointment! We look forward to seeing you soon.

References for HEALTHY NEWS – April 2023

  1. Haldeman S, Dagenais S. A supermarket approach to the evidence-informed management of chronic low back pain. Spine J. 2008 Jan-Feb;8(1):1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2007.10.009. PMID: 18164448.
  2. Schmidt CO, Raspe H, Pfingsten M, et al. Back pain in the Germanadult population: prevalence, severity, and sociodemographic correlates in a multiregional survey. Spine 2007;32:2005–11
  3. Morillon GF, Benkhalti M, Dagenais P, Poder TG. Preferences of patients with chronic low back pain about nonsurgical treatments: Results of a discrete choice experiment. Health Expect. 2023 Feb;26(1):510-530. doi: 10.1111/hex.13685. Epub 2022 Dec 8. PMID: 36482802; PMCID: PMC9854323.
  4. Jensen MC: MRI of the lumbar spine in people without back pain. N Engl J Med 331.1993 
  5. Chou R, Loeser JD, Owens DK, Rosenquist RW, Atlas SJ, Baisden J, Carragee EJ, Grabois M, Murphy DR, Resnick DK, Stanos SP, Shaffer WO, Wall EM; American Pain Society Low Back Pain Guideline Panel. Interventional therapies, surgery, and interdisciplinary rehabilitation for low back pain: an evidence-based clinical practice guideline from the American Pain Society. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2009 May 1;34(10):1066-77. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181a1390d. PMID: 19363457.
  6. Panknin TM, Howe CL, Hauer M, Bucchireddigari B, Rossi AM, Funk JL. Curcumin Supplementation and Human Disease: A Scoping Review of Clinical Trials. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Feb 24;24(5):4476. doi: 10.3390/ijms24054476. PMID: 36901908; PMCID: PMC10003109.