Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic Respects the Painful Spine with Evidence-Based Care

The spine deserves respect. Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic respects all Eugene spines, those healthy and those hurting. When the spine hurts, it gets attention. The attention the hurting spine gets isn’t always respectful of the guidelines for its pain relief. That fact is receiving notice in the medical research. Evidence based guidelines for a painful spine’s care are plentiful, but they aren’t always followed. They are published but not always read or implemented. The spine deserves better. Your Eugene chiropractor respects the spine and matches its trouble to the best evidence-based protocol for its relief which is often times non-surgical and non-drug.

CLINICAL GUIDELINES AND APPROACHES

What is recommended and/or beneficial for spine pain often delivered even in Eugene? The American Pain Society and the American College of Physicians recommend spinal manipulation for low back pain. (1) Flexion distraction (aka Cox Technic) and manual therapy using joint mobilization techniques and flexion distraction is written to be effective for low back pain relief. (2) Conservative treatment in the form of spinal manipulation should be undertaken by patients with chronic low back pain and disability related to low back pain. (3) Flexion distraction brings clinically meaningful improvement in pain by 79% and disability by 70% at 14.5 months follow-up. (4) Research notes that surgical methods and outcomes vary from place to place for patients with the same condition. It invites standardization of care and the establishment of international guidelines built on what works best according to such evidence. (5) Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic agrees that published guidelines showing what is best require respectful use.

CLINICAL REALITY

What is really going on? A just published article that reviewed the care of Canadian spine pain patients referred for spine surgery bluntly wrote that “Surgeons do not use clinical practice guidelines before spine surgery.” What did they do? Prescribed medications to 74.2% of them 46.3% of whom got opioids.  61.1% of patients tried two or fewer non-surgical forms of treatment. The article proposes that if patients tried evidence-based non-operative treatments before a spine surgery consultation, fewer would be referred and, in Canada, fewer would deteriorate as they have to wait so long to see the surgeon. (6) Lumbar cage fusion rates grew from 3.6% to 58% in 5 years that lead to higher complication risk without any improvement in disability or reoperation rates. (7) Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic delivers Eugene chiropractic spine care with less intrusive, more effective means, particularly with the evidence-based protocols of Cox Technic.

MAKE A Eugene CHIROPRACTIC APPOINTMENT

Listen to this PODCAST with medical doctor, Dr. David Moen, who supports non-surgical care of back pain with chiropractic for less costly and unnecessary medical care.

Schedule a Eugene chiropractic consultation today with the Eugene spine specialist at Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic where your hurting spine is seen with respect and relieving care as evidence says is best.