New Study Finds Chiropractic Care more effective than traditional medical care or physical therapy for Low Back Pain

A recent study published in the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine - March 14, 2011, showed Chiropractic to be more effective than traditional medical care or physical therapy for patients with low back pain.

What the study essentially found out was when patients with low back pain were tracked for a YEAR, patients that utilized physical therapy and/or medical interventions were associated with a higher recurrence of disability as opposed to patients that underwent Chiropractic care.
In fact, the patients were TWICE as likely to end up disabled with a physical therapist (PT) and almost 2/3rds more likely to be disabled when partaking in traditional medical interventions. 

This study is unique in that it was conducted by the Center for Disability Research at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety and the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Hopkinton, Mass; and the Center for Health Economics & Science Policy at United BioSource Corporation, London, United Kingdom.
Their objective was to compare the occurrences of repeated disability episodes between types of health care providers, who treat claimants with new episodes of work-related low back pain (LBP). They followed 894 patients over 1-year, using workers’ compensation claims data.

By controlling for demographics and severity, they determined the hazard ratio (HR) for disability recurrence between 3 types of providers:

Physical Therapists (PT), Physicians (MD), and Chiropractors (DC).

The results are quite interesting:

For PTs: HR = 2.0
For MDs: HR = 1.6
For DCs: HR = 1.0

Statistically, this means you are twice as likely to end up disabled if you got your care from a PT, rather than from a DC.

You’re also 60% more likely to be disabled if you choose an MD to manage your care, rather than a DC.
The authors concluded: “In work-related nonspecific LBP, the use of health maintenance care provided by physical therapist or physician services was associated with a higher disability recurrence than with chiropractic services or no treatment.”

Health Maintenance Care in Work-Related Low Back Pain and Its Association With Disability Recurrence. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2011 (Mar 14)

Dr. Dao Tran and Dr. Quan Tran graduated from Cleveland Chiropractic College of Los Angeles. Together, they have over 18 years of combined experience providing Chiropractic treatment for the injured and Lifestyle Chiropractic care to help their patients achieve optimum health and maintain peak performance. They have two Chiropractic offices in Southern California - Orange County-Fountain Valley and South Bay-Lawndale.

Call to make an appointment with Dr. Tran today! 

California Pain Center
9475 Heil Ave., Suite D
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 775-7700

South Bay Pain and Rehab Center
14921 Prairie Ave., Ste. 2,
Lawndale, CA 90260
(310) 263-7246

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