Richmond Chiropractic Healthy News - March 2018

Every profession is establishing recommendations for practitioners to follow when delivering health care in hopes of opening conversations between patients and their healthcare providers and among healthcare providers themselves. Your Richmond chiropractor at Johnson Chiropractic is always ready for such a conversation about Richmond back pain. Back pain is a big health concern distressing 80% of us in Richmond at some point in life. Back pain is handled by many sorts of physicians in many kinds of specialist societies. Their societal recommendations are comparable regarding imaging (Don’t order in the first six weeks of pain unless there are “red flags.”), trying non-surgical care before imaging and/or referring for back surgery, and progressing the patient care from passive to active care. More specifically, the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation recommends not ordering repeat epidural steroid injections without checking for the reaction to the latter one and not prescribing opioid drugs for acute disabling low back pain without evaluation and a test of other alternatives. (2) The American Chiropractic Association recommends not ordering repeat imaging to see how the patient is responding, not getting spinal imaging for acute low back pain in the first 6 weeks of pain unless red flags are present, and staying away from long term usage of passive care but instead move the patient to active care. (3) The American College of Emergency Room Physicians recommends avoiding lumbar spine imaging in non-traumatic back pain unless there are severe or progressive neurological deficits or a suspicion of an underlying condition. (4) The American College of Physicians recommends not getting imaging studies in patients with non-specific low back pain. (5) The North American Spine Society recommends not suggesting bed rest for more than 48 hours for low back pain, not ordering EMG studies to figure out the cause of spine pain, and not getting advanced spinal imaging (ex MRI) in the first six weeks of non-specific acute low back pain without red flags. (6) The Danish Health Authority recommends not referring patients for back surgery for a lumbar disc herniation with radiculopathy except if the severe and debilitating back pain continues for 12 weeks notwithstanding non-surgical treatment. (7) It’s up to you, the Richmond back pain patient or concerned loved one, to choose wisely the path of care for back pain relief. Consider these professions’ recommendations for back pain care to start a conversation with your Richmond chiropractor, your Richmond back pain specialist, at Johnson Chiropractic as you decide on the type of care suitable for your Richmond back pain relief.

 

TIP OF THE MONTH: Try Non-Surgical Interventions for Richmond Back Pain

Common Richmond non-surgical interventions for Richmond back pain relief are pain medications, exercise, manual manipulation, massage, and heat/ice. (8, 9) Included in the top non-surgical interventions to try before Richmond back surgery is spinal manipulation (10) of which 90% (11) is performed by chiropractors. The Cox Technic System of Spine Care – spinal manipulation with exercise, nutrition and passive care for pain and inflammation reduction with increased active care emphasis as pain reduces – fits Choosing Wisely recommendations as it seeks 50% relief of pain within 30 days of care (which is more than the 30% or greater improvement in self-reported pain and function pursued by medicine [12]) before advanced imaging or surgical referral in absence of red flags. Bring your Richmond back pain to Johnson Chiropractic! Make it your first Richmond back pain relief healthcare stop!