Benefits of Continued Oxford Chiropractic Care for Back Pain
“Doc, must I see you for a long time?”
“Not necessarily, but you may want to!”
Researchers are documenting the support for chiropractic care in the short and long term also known as maintenance care. Benefits include pain relief and return of function in the short term and continued pain relief, continued function, and greater confidence in doing activities of daily living. Satterwhite Chiropractic leaves it up to our Oxford chiropractic clients who know themselves and their bodies best.
CHIROPRACTIC RELIEF: TIME, VISITS AND WORSE PAIN, FUNCTION RETURN
A RAND Human Subjects Protection Committee-approved study of chronic back pain (1362) and chronic neck pain (1214) patients evaluated how quickly they improved with chiropractic care and how much functional improvement they felt. The involved patients were found to suffer with mild pain for the most part. Back and neck pain reduced, and function improved gradually over three months of chiropractic care. When frequency of chiropractic visits was mixed in the analysis, those who had the worst pain went for more visits. Only when chronic low back pain patients made visits more than once a week was the impact beneficial and made a difference in terms of greater improvement. (1) Studies like this can assist patients with their expectations and payers with their treatment plan decision-making for coverage. Satterwhite Chiropractic is so glad to read about these published studies to share with our Oxford back pain patients.
TREATMENT PLANNING FOR BACK PAIN RELIEF: Chiropractic Maintenance Care
Not all back pain patients are the same. Oxford back pain has all types of influences: social, biological, psychological as well. A study of back pain patients’ response to chiropractic care alone versus multidisciplinary care uncovered a relatively small difference in outcome which seems logical since inserting ancillary care helps. (2) Same with continued chiropractic care. Patients who kept to the maintenance care recommendations reported fewer pain days and fewer activity-limited days. (3) Back pain patients who adhered to recommendations for maintenance care valued its being patient-centered. Cost, low availability, and fear of treatment were factors they thought stood in the way of their following recommended maintenance care. (4) One patient with a 13-year history of chiropractic once a month maintenance care incorporating cervical spine long-y distraction for cervical radiculopathy and related retrolisthesis (backward slipping of one spinal vertebral bone on its spinal neighbors) maintained the patient’s asymptomatic state, sustained the spine functioning as best as possible, and produced a gradual reduction in the cervical spine retrolisthesis. Older neck pain patients who received long-term chiropractic care and exercise for neck pain reported greater improvement in pain, function, balance, and self-efficacy (confidence in doing daily activities and such). Chiropractic care was thought to positively impact pain and control symptoms while exercise bolstered self-efficacy and confidence to be able to keep active and mobile and in being able to self-handle their condition. (6) Satterwhite Chiropractic carefully creates a treatment plan for each unique patient for optimal outcomes for each.
CONTACT Satterwhite Chiropractic
Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. Robert Borzone on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the effectiveness of continued chiropractic care with the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for his patient with a disc herniation.
Make your next Oxford chiropractic appointment with Satterwhite Chiropractic. Our back pain and neck pain patients don’t have to see us, but many choose to because they feel good and want to stay that way.
