Preventative Care

Be proactive in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.
-Thomas Edison

Chiropractors aren’t just for treating you once you’ve been hurt, they can help you take preventative measures as well to maintain a pain-free lifestyle throughout your life!
Preventative Care can look different for every patient, but often simplifies to a chiropractic adjustment once every 4- 6 weeks;
Dr. J calls these visits ‘tune- ups’ to keep you going!

A groundbreaking study in 2004 by Descarreaux et al. looked at the Efficacy of preventive spinal manipulation for chronic low-back pain and related disabilities: a preliminary study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (2004) vol. 27 (8) pp. 509-14

  • The majority of LBP patients are still symptomatic after one year (only 21% pain-free)
  • ~10% of LBP patients generate more than 80% of the costs
  • Primary prevention of LBP is suggested to be unattainable, so researchers have focused on secondary and tertiary prevention
  • Reviews have concluded that for chronic LBP that there is strong evidence manipulation is more effective than placebo and moderate evidence that it is more effective than usual care
  • Maintenance care is often prescribed by chiropractors (a US survey showed ~95% believe in its use to minimize recurrence) although they agree research for its efficacy is lacking
  • 10-month study of 12 treatments (control and treatment group)
    • 30 patients with chronic nonspecific LBP
    • lumbar roll and SI only manipulation used
  • phase 1 both groups received treatments (3x/wk)
  • second phase only the experimental group received treatment every 3 weeks (only SMT)
  • chiros only asked questions about the chief complaint, no other therapies were given

Results:

  • 1 month control period (waiting) did not modify pain or disability
  • both groups had a significant reduction in pain after phase 1
  • maintenance group had significantly lower pain and disability scores after 10 months
  • lower than control and lower than their own scores after phase 1

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