Emergency room physicians are working on figuring out what is best to do for back pain
patients who come to the ER for help. It’s a dilemma
for them, especially since nearly 3 million such
patients with undifferentiated musculoskeletal low back pain visit the emergency room for help annually! (1) Unless there is
cauda equina syndrome demanding surgery or an infection, pain is the issue. What
can a Oxford ER do?
How can an ER doctor deliver higher value care? (2) Imaging and
medication. What can the Oxford chiropractic back pain specialist provide?
Spinal manipulation and nutrients. Chiropractic has published about successful
management of back pain.
EMERGENCY ROOM: IMAGING
The ER orders lots of
imaging. One in 3 patients who go to the emergency room
for back pain (compared to 1 in 4 who visit a primary care physician) has imaging done:
simple imaging 26%, complex imaging 8.2%. (3) Today’s imaging recommendations
do not support this as they say to hold off
on imaging for 4-6 weeks of conservative care before imaging. (4) Maybe patients
are letting the ER doctors know that they have been using
such care already? Not likely as only 34% of
patients who go to an ER tell the emergency department
physician that they use healthcare options like chiropractors,
massage therapy, acupuncture and the like. (5) What about the pain?
EMERGENCY ROOM: MEDICATIONS
Pain relief, it
seems, is what they can do. Researchers have looked at
a variety of pain medication combinations ER doctors have used
to figure out what is effective. What have
they found? Stronger pain medication options don’t
offer much of a difference. Adding baclofen, metaxalone, or tizanidine to
ibuprofen does not appear to enhance
function or pain any more than placebo plus ibuprofen by 1 week
after an ED visit for acute low back pain. (6,7) Mixing
ibuprofen and acetaminophen did not decrease pain
scores or the need for other analgesic pain meds compared with either ibuprofen
or acetaminophen alone for emergency room patients with acute
musculoskeletal injuries. (8) As a matter of fact, 48% of back pain patients
who go to an ER for their back pain still
had functional impairment 3 months later as well as
42% reported moderate or severe pain. 46% say
they’ve used some type of analgesic pain reliever in the day prior. There are short and long-term issues for ER patients
with low back pain. (1) This may all be frustrating for ER docs and their patients but not typically
for chiropractors and their chiropractic back pain patients. The
Oxford chiropractic back pain specialist at Satterwhite Chiropractic is
prepared with the best of chiropractic care for
Oxford back pain relief.
CHIROPRACTIC: MANIPULATION AND NUTRIENTS
Your Oxford chiropractor gets it.
Familiarity with chiropractic spinal manipulation via
The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management with the addition of
nutrition like chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine sulfate and curcurmin and
turmeric boosts your Oxford chiropractor’s confidence that back
pain relief and management for many otherwise frustrated Oxford
back pain patients is promising.
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Michael Schneider on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson who describes
the role of the primary spine physician who would be the physician
to turn to for back pain issues.
CONTACT Satterwhite Chiropractic
Schedule a Oxford chiropractic appointment
with Satterwhite Chiropractic especially if an emergency department trip
has not resulted in the pain relief you hoped.
Oxford chiropractic care has figured out a well-documented
and researched way to manage back pain.
"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the
DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by
Dr. James M. Cox I."