News

January 2013

Chiropractic May Relieve Back Pain

According to a recent study, adding chiropractic manipulative therapy to standard treatment may help patients with back pain.

Chiropractic is a discipline that focuses on the relationship between spinal structure and body function mediated by the nervous system. It originated in 1895 with D.D. Palmer, a popular hands-on healer practicing in Davenport, Iowa. Sufficient evidence exists from randomized controlled trials to support the use of chiropractic manipulative therapy in the treatment of low back pain and tension-type headache.

The new research involved military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who experienced lower back pain. Participants were randomly assigned to receive standard medical care (SMC) and chiropractic manipulative therapy (CMT), or only SMC. Throughout the study, participant's back pain and back functioning was assessed.

At the second and the fourth week of the study, back pain was significantly more reduced in the group receiving CMT than in the group receiving only SMC. Furthermore, compared to the SMC group, back functioning was significantly more improved in the SMC and CMT group.

For more information about chiropractic, please visit Natural Standard's Health & Wellness Database.

References

  1. Goertz CM, Long CR, Hondras MA et al. Adding chiropractic manipulative therapy to standard medical care for patients with acute low back pain: the results of a pragmatic randomized comparative effectiveness study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2012 Oct 10. 
  2. Natural Standard: The Authority on Integrative Medicine. 

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