Relief, Correction & Wellness

There are three phases of Chiropractic care-Relief, Correction, and Wellness. Relief is the first phase. The goal of the relief is to reduce or eliminate pain. The number of visits necessary to accomplish this will depend on your age, underlying spinal conditions and other lifestyle choices. Restoring the body to normal or maximum function is the goal of the “correction” phase. In most conditions, pain is the last thing to show up and the first thing to leave when treating the vertebral subluxation complex. Adaptations that have taken place in the muscles and other soft tissue (such as disc and ligaments) require care beyond the relief phase to correct. The purpose of the Wellness phase of care is to prevent relapses of previous conditions and to address new conditions before symptoms appear.When maximum improvement has been achieved, your doctor will suggest an appropriate level of care necessary to “maintain” the corrections made during the first two phases.

It’s all in the Research!

Gone are the days when it could be said that chiropractic care is “unscientific”. The chiropractic professional leads the way in research related to the conservative treatment of lower back pain. The RAND study led by Dr. Paul Shekelle (a medical doctor at UCLA) revealed “spinal manipulation is the most commonly used conservative treatment for back pain supported by the most research evidence of effectiveness in terms of early results and long-term effectiveness”. The study went on to say that doctors of chiropractic treated twice as many back pain patients as medical doctors for 30% of the cost! The MEDSTAT Project lead by Miron Stano, PhD (health care economist and professor) analyzed a database consisting of almost 400,000 chiropractic patients. The results were astonishing! Health plans that had limited or no chiropractic coverage had the highest total cost per patient! Moreover, broader coverage of chiropractic service results in dramatically lower health care costs as follows:*35% lower hospital admission rates*42% lower inpatient payments*23% lower total health care costs. The Utah Study evaluated 3,062 separate work related injuries and found that chiropractic care was 73% more cost-effective than medical care, and returned patients to work 10 times sooner than those under medical care!It doesn’t take a scientist to see that chiropractic care is no longer just an alternative treatment method, but instead a vital part of the health care system!

Needing Surgery?

The New England Journal of Medicine reported that surgery is overused for the treatment of back pain.If you or someone you know is suffering from back pain, don’t rush off to get surgery. The rate of all types of back surgery is more than 40% higher in the US than any other country. Furthermore, it should be noted that surgery does not always improve the outcome and in some cases can even make the condition worse.There is considerable evidence supporting the use of conservative, non-surgical treatment for back pain. Consult with your Doctor of Chiropractic to see if conservative care to correct the cause of your lower back pain is an appropriate option for you.