Low Back Pain

Chronic Low-Back Pain: Is Infection a Common Cause?

By Frank M. Painter|September 6, 2013|Chiropractic Care, Low Back Pain|

Chronic Low-Back Pain: Is Infection a Common Cause?

SOURCE: ACA News ~ September 2013

By Daniel Redwood, DC

Background:

A 2013 randomized trial by Hanne Albert and colleagues at the University of Southern Denmark, published in the European Spine Journal, [1] found that 100 days of treatment with a disc-penetrating antibiotic was significantly more effective than a placebo for relief of chronic low-back pain (CLBP) in people whose MRI exam showed Modic Type 1 changes, which are associated with degeneration and inflammation. If confirmed by other studies, this would mean that disc infection is a far more common cause of CLBP than previously known.

Rare indeed is the publication of a Research paper with the potential to overturn long-standing, fundamental assumptions about the nature of a disease. Virtually all clinical research is incremental in its expansion of our knowledge — by evaluating the effectiveness of treatment methods, demonstrating the conditions under which they are most likely to be beneficial and exploring the physical mechanisms through which they work. But every now and then, a study like Marshall and Warren’s 1982 discovery [2] of the association between the heliobacter pylori bacterium and peptic ulcers appears out of left field to upend what previously passed for conventional wisdom.

In recent years, arguably the only publication to trigger a major reorientation of our understanding in an area critical to chiropractic practice was the 2008 Cassidy et al. paper in Spine, [3] in which the investigators examined nine years of medical records in the Canadian province of Ontario (covering 100 million patient years) and were able to definitively demonstrate that the likelihood of a stroke is no greater if one visits a doctor of chiropractic (DC) than if one visits a medical doctor. Overnight, this study shifted our understanding of stroke vis-à-vis chiropractic, with the authors concluding: “The increased risks of VBA (vertebrobasilar artery) stroke associated with chiropractic and PCP (primary care physician) visits is likely due to patients with headache and neck pain from VBA dissection seeking care before their stroke. We found no evidence of excess risk of VBA stroke associated (with) chiropractic care compared to primary care.”

There’s a lot more material like this @:

Low Back Pain and Chiropractic Page

Is the Albert et al. study on antibiotics treatment of CLBP this kind of game-changer?

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Evidence-based Classification Of Low Back Pain In The General Population: One-year Data Collected With SMS Track

By Frank M. Painter|September 3, 2013|Low Back Pain|

Evidence-based Classification Of Low Back Pain In The General Population: One-year Data Collected With SMS Track

The Chiro.Org Blog

Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2013 (Sep 2); 21: 30

Charlotte Leboeuf-Yde, Nadège Lemeunier, Niels Wedderkopp and Per Kjaer

Research Department, The Spine Center of Southern Denmark, Hospital Lillebælt and Institute of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark, Østre Hougvej 55, DK5500 Middelfart, Denmark

Background It was previously assumed that low back pain (LBP) is a disorder that can be classified as acute, subacute and chronic. Lately, the opinion seems to have veered towards a concept of it being a more recurrent or cyclic condition. Interestingly, a recent review of the literature indicated that LBP in the general population is a rather stable condition, characterized as either being present or absent. However, only one of the reviewed studies had used frequent data collection, which would be necessary when studying detailed course patterns over time. It was the purpose of this study to see, if it was possible to identify whether LBP, when present, is rather episodic or chronic/persistent. Further, we wanted to see if it was possible to describe any specific course profiles of LBP in the general population.

Methods In all, 293 49/50-yr old Danes, who previously participated in a population-based study on LBP were invited to respond to 26 fortnightly text-messages over one year, each time asking them the number of days they had been bothered by LBP in the past two weeks. The course patterns for these individuals were identified through manual analysis, by observing the interplay between non-episodes and episodes of LBP. A non-episode of LBP was defined as a period of at least one month without LBP as proposed by de Vet et al. A fortnight with at least one day of pain was defined as a pain fortnight (FN). At least one pain FN surrounded by a non-episode on each side was defined as an episode of LBP. After some preliminary observations of the spread of data, episodes were further classified as brief (consisting of only one pain FN) or longer (if there were at least 2 pain FNs in a row). An episode of at least 6 pain FNs in a row (i.e. 3 months) was defined as a long-lasting episode.

Results In all, 261 study subjects were included in the analyses, for which 7 distinct LBP subsets could be identified. These could be grouped into three major clusters; those mainly without LBP (35%), those with episodic LBP (30%) and those with persistent LBP (35%). There was a positive association between number of episodes and their duration.

There’s a lot more material like this @:

Low Back Pain and Chiropractic Page and the

Clinical Model for Diagnosis and Management Page

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Chiropractic Cost-Effectiveness Supplement

By Frank M. Painter|August 17, 2013|Chiropractic Care, Chronic Pain, Cost-Effectiveness, Low Back Pain|

Chiropractic Cost-Effectiveness Supplement

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Virginia Chiropractic Association

The following studies detail the cost effectiveness and overall efficacy of chiropractic care, and the procedures that doctors of chiropractic provide their patients.

This presentation is divided into several parts:

Background studies, detailing that LBP is much more complex than the literature leads us to believe;
Cost-Effectiveness Studies;
Worker’s Compensation Studies (National studies) and
Worker’s Compensation Studies (State specific studies)

GENERAL BACKGROUND STUDIES:

Prognosis in Patients with Recent Onset Low Back Pain in Australian Primary Care: Inception Cohort Study
British Medical Journal 2008 (Jul 7); 337: a171 ~ FULL TEXT

This study contradicts the Clinical Practice Guidelines that maintain that recovery from acute low back pain is usually rapid and complete. Their findings with 973 consecutive primary care patients was that recovery was slow for most patients, and almost 1/3 of patients did not recover within one year (when following standard medical recommendations).

This study was designed to determine the one year prognosis of patients with low back pain. 973 patients with low back pain that had lasted less than 2 weeks completed a baseline questionnaire. Patients were reassessed through a phone interview at six weeks, three months and 12 months. The study found that the prognosis claimed in clinical guidelines was more favorable than the actual prognosis for the patients in the study. Recovery was slow for most patients and almost 1/3 of patients did not recover within one year.

Low Back Pain In A General Population. Natural Course And Influence Of Physical Exercise–A 5-Year Follow-Up
Spine. 2006 (Dec 15); 31 (26): 3045-51

This study contradicts the common belief that low back pain will extinguish with simple core exercises. This study provided significant benefits for only 1 out of 5 LPB sufferers. Researchers followed 790 patients who initially sought care for low back pain from 70 different caregivers. After 5 years, only 21% of patients studied reported no continued pain while only 37% reported no disability. Pain and disability scores dropped significantly at 6 months, then remained flat at 2 yrs and 5 yrs. Nonspecific regular exercise did not affect recovery. Between 27% and 66% of the study population experienced a recurrence of low back pain.

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Spinal Manipulation: The Right Choice For Relieving Low Back Pain

By Frank M. Painter|April 24, 2013|Chiropractic Care, Low Back Pain, Placebo, Randomized Controlled Trial, Spinal Manipulation|

Spinal Manipulation: The Right Choice for Relieving Low Back Pain

The Chiro.Org Blog

Spinal High-velocity Low Amplitude Manipulation in Acute Nonspecific Low Back Pain: A Double-blinded Randomized Controlled Trial in Comparison With Diclofenac and Placebo

Spine 2013 (Apr 1); 38 (7): 540–548

von Heymann, Wolfgang J. Dr. Med; Schloemer, Patrick Dipl. Math; Timm, Juergen Dr. RER, NAT, PhD; Muehlbauer, Bernd Dr. Med

Competence Center for Clinical Studies; and †Institute for Biometrics, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Thanks to Dynamic Chiropractic for access to these Key Findings from the study

“There was a clear difference between the treatment groups: the subjects [receiving] spinal manipulation showed a faster and quantitatively more distinct reduction in the RMS” (compared to subjects receiving diclofenac therapy).

“Subjects [also] noticed a faster and quantitatively more distinct reduction in [their] subjective estimation of pain after manipulation. … A similar observation was made when comparing the somatic part of the SF-12 inventory … indicating that the subjects experienced better quality of life after the spinal manipulation compared to diclofenac.”

“The rescue medication was calculated both for the mean cumulative dose (numbers of 500 mg paracetamol tablets) and for the number of days on which rescue medication was taken. … In the diclofenac arm, the patients on average took almost 3 times as many tablets and the number of days [taking the tablets] was almost twice as high” compared to patients in the manipulation arm. While the authors note that these results were not significant due to large between-individual variations (meaning a few patients could have taken many tablets, throwing off the overall totals), it still suggests that value of spinal manipulation vs. drug therapy (because even if both patient groups had taken the same amount of rescue medication for the same number of days, it wouldn’t discount the fact that patients in the manipulation group showed significant improvement on outcome variables compared to patients in the diclofenac group).

The Abstract (more…)

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The Nordic Maintenance Care Program: The Clinical Use of Identified Indications for Preventive Care

By Frank M. Painter|March 7, 2013|Chiropractic Care, Guidelines, Low Back Pain, Maintenance Care|

The Nordic Maintenance Care Program: The Clinical Use of Identified Indications for Preventive Care

The Chiro.Org Blog

Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2013 (Mar 6); 21: 10

Iben Axén and Lennart Bodin

Intervention & Implementation Research, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Nobels väg 13, Stockholm 171 77, Sweden

Background Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent condition and has been found to be recurrent and persistent in a majority of cases. Chiropractors have a preventive strategy, maintenance care (MC), aimed towards minimizing recurrence and progression of such conditions. The indications for recommending MC have been identified in the Nordic countries from hypothetical cases. This study aims to investigate whether these indications are indeed used in the clinical encounter.

Methods Data were collected in a multi-center observational study in which patients consulted a chiropractor for their non-specific LBP. Patient baseline information was a) previous duration of the LBP, b) the presence of previous episodes of LBP and c) early improvement with treatment. The chiropractors were asked if they deemed each individual patient an MC candidate. Logistic regression analyses (uni– and multi-level) were used to investigate the association of the patient variables with the chiropractor’s decision.

Results The results showed that “previous episodes” with LBP was the strongest predictor for recommending MC, and that the presence of all predictors strengthens the frequency of this recommendation. However, there was considerable heterogeneity among the participating chiropractors concerning the recommendation of MC.

Conclusions The study largely confirms the clinical use of the previously identified indications for recommending MC for recurrent and persistent LBP. Previous episodes of LBP was the strongest indicator.

There are many similar studies in our new

Maintenance Care, Wellness and Chiropractic Page

From the Full-Text Article:

Background

In the past few decades, the prevalence of low back pain, LBP, has been found to be extremely high [1] and the resulting costs of the condition are substantial [2] . Upon further scrutiny, the condition has been found to be recurrent in most cases and persistent in some [3-5] . These facts invite preventive approaches, both from a personal and societal perspective. Secondary prevention, to minimize the recurrences or the impact of episodic LBP, and tertiary prevention, to minimize the effects of persistent LBP, seem warranted.

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New Oregon LBP Guidelines: Try Chiropractic First

By Frank M. Painter|December 17, 2012|Chiropractic Care, Guidelines, Low Back Pain|

New Oregon LBP Guidelines: Try Chiropractic First

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Dynamic Chiropractic

By Vern Saboe, DC, DACAN, DABFP, FACO

Lobbyist, Oregon Chiropractic Association

The new State of Oregon Evidence-Based Clinical Guidelines for the Evaluation and Management of Low Back Pain recommends spinal manipulation as the only nonpharmacological treatment for acute lower back pain. The guidelines, which have been adopted by the Oregon Health Authority, are a collaborative effort between the Center for Evidence-Based Practice, Oregon Corporation for Health Care Quality, Oregon Health and Sciences University’s Center for Evidence-based Policy, and the new Oregon Health Evidence Review Commission.

The Oregon Chiropractic Association (OCA) repeatedly gave written and oral testimony that the original draft guidelines placed too much emphasis on drugs and surgery. A close review of the original algorithm, “Management of Low Back Pain (LBP) (Image 2), relative to “#23 Signs or symptoms of radiculopathy or spinal stenosis,” reveals this. For example, if subsequent special imaging (MRI) revealed concordant nerve root impingement or spinal stenosis (#25), the original draft algorithm led the clinician into a surgical or other invasive procedure “dead end,” meaning there was no contingency for conservative chiropractic treatment (#26).

Image 2 (above)
—> Is Now Discontinued

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