Montreal Chiropractic Healthy News - March 2018

Every profession is establishing recommendations for practitioners to abide by when dispensing health care in hopes of opening conversations between patients and their healthcare providers and among healthcare providers themselves. Your Montreal chiropractor at Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic is always ready for such a conversation about Montreal back pain. Back pain is a big health concern upsetting 80% of us in Montreal at some point in life. Back pain is dealt with by many sorts of physicians in many types of specialist societies. Their societal recommendations are similar regarding imaging (Do not perform in the first six weeks of pain unless there are “red flags.”), attempting non-surgical care before imaging and/or referring for back surgery, and moving 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 obtaining spinal imaging for acute low back pain in the first 6 weeks of pain unless there are red flags, and avoiding long term usage of passive care but instead move the patient to active care. (3) The American College of Emergency Room Physicians recommends avoiding lumbar spine imaging in non-traumatic back pain unless there are severe or progressive neurological deficits or a suspicion of an underlying issue. (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 figure out the cause of spine pain, and not doing advanced spinal imaging (ex MRI) within the first six weeks of non-specific acute low back pain devoid of 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 in spite of non-surgical treatment. (7) It’s up to you, the Montreal back pain patient or concerned loved one, to choose wisely the path of care for back pain relief. Use these professions’ recommendations for back pain care to guide a conversation with your Montreal chiropractor, your Montreal back pain specialist, at Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic as you choose the type of care suitable for your Montreal back pain relief.

 

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

Common Montreal non-surgical interventions for Montreal 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 Montreal back surgery is spinal manipulation (10) of which 90% (11) is done 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 importance as pain reduces – 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 pursued by medicine [12]) before advanced imaging or surgical referral in absence of red flags. Bring your Montreal back pain to Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic! Make it your first Montreal back pain relief healthcare stop!