CHOOSING WISELY (1) – WHAT TO DO ABOUT BACK PAIN
Healthcare professions are establishing recommendations for practitioners to follow when dispensing health care in
hopes of opening conversations between patients and
their healthcare providers and among healthcare providers themselves. Your
Sandy Springs chiropractor at Cross Chiropractic Center is always ready for such a
conversation about Sandy Springs back pain. Back pain is a huge
health concern affecting 80% of us in
Sandy Springs at some point in life. Back pain is managed by many sorts of physicians in many types
of specialist societies. Their societal recommendations are comparable
regarding imaging (Don’t perform in
the first 6 weeks of pain unless there are “red
flags.”), attempting non-surgical care ahead of
imaging and/or referring for back surgery, and moving
the patient care from passive care to active care. For example, the American Academy of Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation recommends not ordering repeat epidural steroid
injections without evaluating the reaction to
the last one and not prescribing opioid drugs for acute disabling
low back pain without assessment and a test of other
alternatives. (2) The American Chiropractic Association recommends not performing
repeat imaging to monitor progress of care,
not obtaining spinal imaging for acute low back pain in the first
6 weeks of pain unless red flags are present,
and avoiding long term usage of passive care
but instead move the patient to active care. (3) The American
College of Emergency Room Physicians recommends sidestepping
lumbar spine imaging in non-traumatic back pain except if there are
severe or progressive neurological deficits or a suspicion of an underlying issue.
(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 establish the cause of spine pain, and not getting
advanced spinal imaging (ex MRI) in the first 6 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 unless the severe and debilitating back pain continues
for 12 weeks notwithstanding
non-surgical treatment. (7) It is up to you, the Sandy Springs back
pain patient or concerned loved one, to choose wisely the course of
care for back pain relief. Consider these professions’
recommendations for back pain care to guide a conversation
with your Sandy Springs chiropractor, your Sandy Springs back pain specialist, at Cross Chiropractic Center as you decide
on the type of care appropriate for your Sandy Springs
back pain relief.
Listen to this PODCAST
from the Back Doctors' Podcast series about two cases of back pain helped with Cox Technic, one with imaging and all sorts of care and the second case without any imaging studies.
TIP OF THE MONTH: Try Non-Surgical Interventions for Sandy Springs Back Pain
Common Sandy Springs non-surgical interventions for
Sandy Springs 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 Sandy Springs back surgery is spinal
manipulation (10) of which 90% (11) is done 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 importance as pain decreases – fits
Choosing Wisely recommendations as it works toward 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 Sandy Springs back pain to Cross Chiropractic Center! Make it your first Sandy Springs back pain
relief healthcare stop!