Stats. Stats. Stats. We humans
are well studied: our diseases,
our habits, our lives. In healthcare, data and stats can be beneficial to improve care, particularly flow
of low back pain management from conservative, non-surgical to surgical when
needed. In Oxford Satterwhite Chiropractic is practiced
in managing this flow of back pain care and in referring when/if needed.
LOW BACK PAIN MANAGEMENT DATA
The worldwide leading cause of
disability is low back pain. Diagnosing the cause of low
back pain – spinal stenosis, radiculopathy, non-specific and specific low back
pain – is central to managing it. A new study stated
that low back examination tests alone are not always useful
when considered alone. (1) That is the reason that Satterwhite Chiropractic associates
everything - your history, current pain, exam tests’ results, imaging, and more
- to establish a diagnosis and a treatment plan.
And not all back pain sufferers have to visit specialists
like spine surgeons. Even the surgeons value it
when patients who require their expertise (surgical
skills) are referred to them. One recent study pointed
out that of 500 cases referred to a neurosurgeon, only 22% were
surgical candidates. 80% of referrals made during the study’s time
period were considered not appropriate.
The researchers concluded that “triaging approaches led by
musculoskeletal experts may improve referral appropriateness to specialized
care.” (2) Satterwhite Chiropractic concurs and is ready to fill
that role. Your Oxford chiropractor specializes in the diagnosis and management of low back pain
and knows when to refer for specialized treatment like advanced
imaging, surgery, etc.
DATA ON CHIROPRACTIC BACK PAIN PATIENT CARE
In the chiropractic world of healthcare,
Care Response is a packed database of details from
chiropractic patients around the world. It has been gathering
data for over 10 years about patient satisfaction. Two main
points of feedback were on what chiropractic patients felt was
good about their care and what could be improved. The good incorporated
clinical outcomes (decreased pain, better
function, being understood as having pain and its cause), examination and description
of the condition and its treatment, professionalism, friendliness, feeling
valued as a person, safety, comfort, and punctuality. There is always room for
improvement, and patients shared that they wanted to
not be rushed during the visit, wanted to feel understood, wanted good
outcomes, etc. (3) Satterwhite Chiropractic tries hard to focus
on you during your time at our Oxford chiropractic office.
CHIROPRACTIC IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE
As your Oxford chiropractor, Satterwhite Chiropractic strives
to deliver the ‘good’! And we take it one step further to increase
quality of life for our low back pain patients. The most recent
series of questions to help evaluate patients for
these outcomes is called PROMIS that covers
function, pain interference, pain intensity, fatigue, sleep, depression,
anxiety, satisfaction in social life, mental health, etc. The final word from all the assembled data found that patients (1)
improved significantly and felt they did, (2) improved significantly but did
not think they did, (3) didn’t improve significantly
but felt they did, (4) did not improve significantly or report
feeling better. (4) We strive for the ideal #1 outcome explained
above, and we want you to tell us how you feel you are.
CONTACT Satterwhite Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Coleman Cormier on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
illustrates the relief of low back pain in a patient with a disc
herniation implementing The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain
Management.
Schedule your Oxford chiropractic
appointment soon. Satterwhite Chiropractic studies the data
to best deliver quality of life-improving care for our Oxford low
back pain patients.