By Brooks Laber D.C.
Have you been to urgent care, or the hospital for back pain? Maybe you have a friend who seems to frequent there due to his never ending back pain? Back pain is one of the most common issues facing people today. Some of the most common treatments for back pain typically given at urgent care include:
- Pain killers
- Muscle Relaxers
- Braces
- Ice
- Rest
Don’t get me wrong, when you are in intense pain these can help immensely. The big issue with using these over and over again is that you aren’t addressing the problem with the back. Why does your back keep “going
out”? The most common cause of back pain deals with structure, and/or function. Who is the leading expert with first correctly diagnosing, and then fixing the issues naturally without surgery, you guessed it your chiropractor. In fact in the journal Spine, it was found that 42.7% of patients (with back injuries) who first saw a surgeon had surgery, in contrast to only 1.5% of those who first saw a chiropractor.
In another study from Annals of Internal Medicine, the success rate was twice as high for chiropractor “manual therapy” as for the general practitioner group. Chiropractors also scored better than physical therapy on all outcome measures, as well as the manual therapy group had fewer work absences the patient receiving physical therapy or continued care. Chiropractors and physical therapist each resulted in statistically significant less analgesic use than continued care.
If you’re anything like me, you need to hear firsthand what your friends say about their chiropractor rather than reading some study. Ask around, there are a lot of excellent chiropractors in the Shakopee area. Find someone you are comfortable with and that fits your personality. Some patients are looking for immediate pain relief to keep working, while others want more prolonged care to fix the issue, and reduce the risk of having issues down the road. Some chiropractors in the area also have extensive training in nutrition, and an anti-inflammatory diet which can greatly improve back pain.
Next time you “throw your back out”, ask around and find a local chiropractor to help fix the problem. It’s completely safe, natural, and will address the underlying problem instead of masking the pain.
If you or a friend have any questions or concerns, or would like to set up a initial appointment to see if chiropractic care is right for you give us a call at Brooks Chiropractic (952)456-6611.