Toronto Chiropractic Healthy News - March 2018

Healthcare professions are establishing recommendations for practitioners to adhere to when providing health care in hopes of opening conversations between patients and their healthcare providers and among healthcare providers themselves. Your Toronto chiropractor at Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre is always ready for such a conversation about Toronto back pain. Back pain is a huge health issue distressing 80% of us in Toronto at some point in life. Back pain is handled by many types of physicians in many kinds of professional societies. Their societal recommendations are related concerning imaging (Do not do in the first six weeks of pain unless there are “red flags.”), trying non-surgical care before imaging and/or referring for back surgery, and progressing the patient care from passive care to active care. For example, the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation recommends not ordering repeat epidural steroid injections without evaluating the response to the last one and not prescribing opioid drugs for acute disabling low back pain without evaluation and a test of other alternatives. (2) The American Chiropractic Association recommends not doing repeat imaging to see how the patient is responding, not getting spinal imaging for acute low back pain in the first 6 weeks of pain unless red flags are present, and staying away from long term usage of passive care but instead move the patient to active care. (3) The American College of Emergency Room Physicians recommends sidestepping lumbar spine imaging in non-traumatic back pain except if there are severe or progressive neurological deficits or a suspicion of an underlying condition. (4) The American College of Physicians recommends not getting imaging studies in patients with non-specific low back pain. (5) The North American Spine Society recommends not suggesting bed rest for more than 48 hours for low back pain, not ordering EMG studies to establish the cause of spine pain, and not getting advanced spinal imaging (ex MRI) in the first 6 weeks of non-specific acute low back pain without red flags. (6) The Danish Health Authority recommends not sending patients for back surgery for a lumbar disc herniation with radiculopathy except if the severe and debilitating back pain continues for 12 weeks despite non-surgical treatment. (7) It’s up to you, the Toronto back pain patient or concerned loved one, to choose wisely the course of care for back pain relief. Consider these professions’ recommendations for back pain care to start a conversation with your Toronto chiropractor, your Toronto back pain specialist, at Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre as you choose the type of care suitable for your Toronto back pain relief.

 

TIP OF THE MONTH: Try Non-Surgical Interventions for Toronto Back Pain

Common Toronto non-surgical interventions for Toronto back pain relief are pain medications, exercise, manual manipulation, massage, and heat/ice. (8, 9) Included in the top non-surgical interventions to try before Toronto back surgery is spinal manipulation (10) of which 90% (11) is performed by chiropractors. The Cox Technic System of Spine Care – spinal manipulation with exercise, nutrition and passive care for pain and inflammation reduction with increased active care emphasis as pain decreases – matches Choosing Wisely recommendations as it seeks 50% relief of pain within 30 days of care (which is more than the 30% or greater improvement in self-reported pain and function sought by medicine [12]) before advanced imaging or surgical referral without red flags. Bring your Toronto back pain to your Toronto chiropractor’s office! Make it your first Toronto back pain relief healthcare stop!