Chiropractic Effective for Radiating Back Pain

MedPage Today recently released an article which highlights a piece of new research from the Annals of Internal Medicine, showing that chiropractic care along with exercise and advice reduced radiating back pain (sciatica) more than exercise and advice alone at 12 weeks. This study is especially clinically relevant because it combines therapies, as our patients experience on a daily basis, instead of evaluating the effectiveness of one, stand-alone treatment method.

Our combination of spinal manipulation and physical therapy techniques has allowed us to help a multitude of patients with back pain and radiating leg pain avoid low back surgery and get back to their activities quickly

Spinal Manipulation and Exercise Study

The 192 patients in the study with back-related leg pain were divided randomly into two groups: those receiving spinal manipulative therapy along with home exercise and advice and an home exercise only group.

For 12 weeks, patients worked with chiropractors, physical therapists, and a personal trainer to receive the home exercise program, which was given in four 1-hour, one-on-one visits with patients and included instruction and practice to enhance mobility and increase core endurance.

In the manipulation group, a patient could receive as many as 20 treatment visits, each lasting 10 to 20 minutes. These involved manual techniques, such as mobilization or manipulation to the lumbar spine or sacroiliac joints. They also received adjunct therapies as needed, such as active and passive muscle stretching or ischemic compression of trigger points.

Patients with back-related leg pain who received spinal manipulative therapy plus home exercise and advice had less leg pain, lower back pain, and disability after 12 weeks than patients who received home exercise and advice alone, researchers reported. At 1 year the patients in the manipulation group experienced more global improvement, higher satisfaction, and lower medication use.

What This Means For You

There have been many studies published showing the effectiveness of spinal manipulation for “non-specific low back back” which is back pain without radicular symptoms or symptoms spreading into the leg. However, as the authors, Gert Bronfort, DC, PhD at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, MN and Roni Evans, DC, PhD, at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, point out, “This study shows that for patients without progressive neurological deficits and serious identifiable causes (e.g., spinal fracture, etc.) SMT, coupled with home exercise and advice, may be helpful, and should be considered.”

Our combination of McKenzie Method- Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) and spinal manipulation among other highly-sought after treatments has allowed us to help a multitude of patients with back pain and radiating leg pain avoid low back surgery and get back to their activities quickly, often in far fewer than half the number of treatments (average of 6-8 visits) used in this study!