“Doc, do I have to see you for a long time?”
“Not necessarily, but you may want
to!”
Researchers are reporting on
support for chiropractic care in the short and long
term also known as maintenance care. Advantages include
pain relief and return of function in the short term and continued
pain relief, continued function, and higher
confidence in doing activities of daily living.
The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR leaves it up to our
Colorado Springs chiropractic clients who know themselves and their
bodies well.
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 analyzed
how quickly they improved with chiropractic care and how much
functional improvement they felt. These
patients were found to suffer with mild pain for
the most part. Back and neck pain decreased, and function recovered
gradually over three months of chiropractic care. When frequency of
chiropractic visits was mixed in the analysis,
those who experienced 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 regards to more
improvement. (1) Studies like this can assist patients with their
expectations and payers with their treatment plan decision-making for coverage.
The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR is so glad to see these
types of studies published to share with our
Colorado Springs back pain patients.
TREATMENT PLANNING FOR BACK PAIN RELIEF: Chiropractic Maintenance
Care
Not all back pain patients are the same. Colorado Springs back pain has biological, social,
and psychological influences]30] that need to be addressed as well. A study of
back pain patients’ response to chiropractic care alone versus
multidisciplinary care found a relatively small difference in
outcome which makes sense that inserting
ancillary care boosts the outcomes. (2) Same with continued
chiropractic care. Patients who followed maintenance care
recommendations noted fewer pain days and fewer activity-limited
days. (3) Back pain patients who followed
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 including 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 decrease
in the cervical spine retrolisthesis. Older neck pain patients who got
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 considered
to improve pain and manage symptoms while
exercise bolstered self-efficacy and confidence to be able to keep active and mobile and in being able to
self-manage their condition. (6) The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR carefully designs
a treatment plan for each unique patient for optimal
outcomes for each.
CONTACT The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR
Listen to the PODCAST
with Dr. Robert Borzone on the
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
explains the benefit of continued chiropractic
care with the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for his patient
with a disc herniation.
Make your next Colorado Springs chiropractic
appointment with The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR. Our back pain and neck pain patients do
not have to see us, but many do because they feel
good and want to keep feeling good.