Home

Chiropractic & Back Pain

Chiropractic and Back Pain

Chiropractic and back painLow back pain is a very common pain symptom. One out of three of us suffer from some kind of back pain every year, and many people live with chronic spinal pain.

The good news is that chiropractic has been shown over and over to be an effective treatment of back pain. Here's a collection of articles that discuss how chiropractic can help in the treatment of back pain.

Watch our videos in the playlist below, or read some of our articles to learn more about how chiropractic can help ease back pain.

 

Back Pain After Auto Accidents

Back Pain and Chiropractic

Back Pain Treatments

Articles:

Aortic Calcification, Disc Degeneration, and Back Pain

Back Pain Assessment and Advice in Primary Care

Back Pain: Basic Anatomy

Back Pain: Common Causes

Back Pain: Diagnosis

Back Pain, Fibromyalgia, and the Stress Response System

Back Pain: General Information and Symptoms

Back Pain Recovery Can Be Slow

Childhood obesity linked to back problems

Don't Wait For Low Back Pain to Send You to the ER

Fear of Movement and Low Back Pain

Fear of Pain More Disabling than Actual Pain

Job Satisfaction and the Transition from Acute to Chronic Back Pain

Neck and Back Pain in Schoolchildren: The Role of Backpacks

Physical Risk Factors and Back Pain

Predictors of LBP and Return to Work

Prognostic Factors for Low Back Pain patients returning to work

Smoking linked to back pain

Socioeconomic Impact of Back Pain

Stressful Life Events and Low Back Pain

Study shines light on who develops chronic low back pain

Waddell's Nonorganic Signs in Occupational Low Back Pain Patients

Weight loss eases back pain

Will your back pain become chronic?

Will Your Back Pain Become Chronic?

A new study from the journal Spine finds that patients with acute low-back pain frequently develop chronic symptoms.

 

Acute low-back pain can result from lifting something incorrectly or straining ligaments and muscles in the back. It is often characterized as a temporary episode of pain that will resolve itself in under 90 days.

In this new study, researchers worked with 605 acute low-back pain patients. After six months, 13% of patients still had back pain. After two years, 19% had developed chronic symptoms. Even patients without persistent symptoms still experienced occasional episodes of pain.

In another recent study, 73% of patients reported recurring acute low-back pain and the majority said their symptoms worsened with each episode.

This research means that you shouldn’t ignore an episode of back pain, because it might be the beginning of a chronic problem.

Fortunately, studies show that chiropractic is an effective way to prevent back pain from worsening or recurring. Your chiropractor can treat your current episode of pain and help prevent it from becoming a chronic condition.

If you suffer from back pain, call our office today to see if chiropractic can help.

References

Donelson R, McIntosh G, Hall H. Is it time to rethink the typical course of low-back pain?. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2012; doi:10.1016/j.pmrj.2011.10.015.(In press, corrected proof version).

Mehling WE, Gopisetty V, Bartmess E et al. The Prognosis of Acute Low Back Pain in Primary Care in the United States: A 2-Year Prospective Cohort Study. Spine 2012; 37(8): 678–684.

Predictors of LBP and Return to Work

Through a light mobilization program, this team of researchers attempted to determine medical, psychological, and sociodemographic predictors that influence a worker's return after taking sick leave for low back pain. The researchers evaluated 260 workers who were on sick leave for 8 to 12 weeks.

Medically, they found that the mobilization treatment was effective in patients who did not have stiffness or restricted mobility at the beginning of the program. The researchers stressed to the patients the importance of not restricting use of the back or movement in the affected area.

Inactivity was found to delay return to normal activity and affect psychological disposition. Activity has been shown in both previous literature and in this light mobilization treatment program to promote well being and assist patients in overcoming the sick role. The researchers suggested the patients, "be encouraged to view themselves as healthy people who, unfortunately, have a bout of low back pain."

The researchers found those who returned to work felt the condition was under their personal control, as opposed to nonreturners who felt their health status was a matter of chance or others more powerful.

In addition the researchers found those who did not return to work to be influenced by sociodemographic factors as well. The study found that non-returners:

  • Were older.
  • Had more children.
  • Had more children living at home.
  • Had been in one job for more years.
  • Reported more physical workload.
  • And had reduced ability to perform ordinary work.

The researchers found numerous factors influencing a worker's propensity to return to work after a low back pain onset. Their findings led them to conclude:

"The results of the current study support the position that the prognosis for long-term pain is a multifactorial phenomenon. The good prognosis for this particular type of treatment depends on a combination of medical, sociodemographic, and psychological factors."

Haldorsen E, Indahl A, Ursin H. Patients with low back pain not returning to work. Spine 1998;(23)11:1202-1208.

Prognostic Factors for LBP patients returning to work

Multimodal treatment plans have been shown effective for low back pain (LBP), yet some patients still fail to improve. "Improvement" in this case, is often defined as returning to work. This current study attempted not to test the effectiveness of a treatment method, but to see of 143 subjects, why 17 patients failed to improve. The author hoped to assess the prognostic factors that influence a failure to return to work.

The patients were involved in a four-week treatment program that focused on restoring health and on "deconditioning" the patients of behavior influenced by fear. The fear of pain and the fear of movement have been found in other studies to significantly contribute to decreases in mobility, fitness, and strength. The patients participated in back school, stress management, and symptom and disability discussions, as well as worked on modifying harmful behaviors and emotions.

The author measured the patients' experience of pain, functional disability, psychological distress, and physical functioning. At the six-month follow-up, the author determined if they met the goal: returning to work with the same workload, with the same work demands as before undergoing the program.

There were improvements within the group. Pain intensity decreased and physical functioning increased and 120 (of 143) completely returned to work. Three variables seem to predict who would not return to work:

  • Time off work.
  • History of spinal surgery.
  • Psychological indications of dissatisfaction and malaise.

The author notes that those who failed to return to work had lower scores on the physical measures, and higher scores on the psychological measures at pre-treatment—perhaps indicating future failure in the program.

To explain the negative influence of absence from work, the author writes, "It can be hypothesized that the longer a patient is off work, the greater the opportunity for negative experiences to reinforce the chronic sick role." Another theory mentioned is that when returning to work after a prolonged absence, patients may be treated differently by co-workers and by the employer.

"Failed back surgery" is perceived in a similar light—it seems to reinforce pain behavior, and lead to the development of chronic pain syndrome. The author also suggests that these patients become entangled in a "vicious cycle" of blaming chronic pain on the failure of physical treatment.

The dissatisfaction and malaise aspect is complex. Other research has indicated a strong correlation of this scale with low back pain. Apparently there is a certain "passivity" involved, without the patients awareness of depression or anxiety disorder. They are also characterized as having a certain "malaise" about their condition. The author writes, "Such characteristics may make them more susceptible to passivity and thus simple acceptance of their chronic disability. Less effort is invested in the improvement of their situation and thereby the risk of a poor treatment outcome is heightened."

The underlining characteristic in all three prognostic factors is a patient's feeling of disability. In the end, this study is another contribution to the body of research that stresses that a back pain patient's subjective perception of disability dictates the course of treatment and its outcome.

Vendrig A. Prognostic factors and treatment-related changes associated with return to work in the multimodal treatment of chronic back pain. Journal of Behavioral Medicine 1999;22(3):217-232.

Smoking Linked to Back Pain

New research suggests that smoking can increase your risk of back pain.

In a study of 95,000 nurses, women who smoked were three times more likely to develop arthritis. This inflammatory arthritis causes pain in  the low back and sacrum. Past smokers were 1 and a half times more likely to develop arthritis, and women who smoked for over 25 years had the highest risk of all. Researchers suggested that smokers may be more susceptible to arthritis because smoking could induce oxidative stress that causes inflammation and harms the immune system.

 

In another new study, smokers were more likely to have an early onset of inflammatory back pain. Compared to non-smokers, patients who smoked had greater disease activity, worse function, and a poorer quality of life. MRI scans revealed that smokers were also more likely to have structural lesions on their spines and sacroiliac joints. More severe symptoms forced smokers to miss work more often than nonsmokers. Researchers recommended that patients with inflammatory back pain be "strongly advised" to quite smoking.

If  you suffer from back pain, your chiropractor can ease your pain while supporting you in making healthy lifestyle choices to reduce pain and improve your overall health. Call our office to learn more.

References

Chung HY, Machado P, Heijde D, et al. Smokers in early axial spondyloarthritis have earlier disease onset, more disease activity, inflammation and damage, and poorer function and health-related quality of life: results from the DESIR cohort. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2012;71:809-816. doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2011-200180.

Li W, Han J, Qureshi A. Smoking and risk of incident psoriatic arthritis in US women. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2012;71:804-808. doi 10.1136/annrheumdis-2011-200416.

Walsh, Nancy. Smoking Tied to Back Pain, Arthritis. Medpage Today. May 18,2012. Accessed May 24, 2012. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Rheumatology/Arthritis/32763.

Socioeconomic Impact of Back Pain

In a recent editorial published in Pain, SJ Linton appraised back pain's psychological and economic price:

"Important information on the impact for the individual is provided in a study of diabetic, hypertensives, healthy controls and those with musculoskeletal pain (Wandell et al., 1997). These researchers found that all three patient groups suffered considerable distress, e.g. feeling tired and worried, as compared to the healthy controls. In addition, the patient groups had a significantly lower income than the healthy controls. We have also been struck by the comparatively large number of people with long-term musculoskeletal pain having low incomes. The data of Wandell et al (1997) suggests that patients with musculoskeletal pain suffer as much as the other long-term disease groups did."

  1. Linton SJ. The socioeconomic impact of chronic back pain: is anyone benefiting. Pain 1998;75:163-168.
  2. Wandell PE, Brorsson B, Aberg H. Psychic and socioeconomic consequences with diabetes compared to other chronic conditions. Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine 1997;25:39-43.

Stressful Life Events and Low Back Pain

This study attempted to examine stressful life events in patients with idiopathic low back pain. The researchers took into account individual predisposition and the psychosocial resources available during the stressful life episode. The study divided 64 low back pain patients into two categories, those with organic causes (16 patients) and those with an uncertain etiology (48 patients).

The most frequently cited stressful life events included "severe illness of family member or close friend," "loss of job," and "divorce." When comparing the two groups of patients, the researchers found no difference in the kindand number of stressful life events. However, the idiopathic group recalled the events as significantly stressful, causing long lasting disturbances in their daily life. The idiopathic patients showed difficulty in coping with these events and a lack of support—which then sparked feelings of helplessness and exhaustion—contributing to chronic low back pain.

The researchers suggest:

"In the assessment of these patients, the attending physician should pay special attention to highly stressful events while taking the history of the present illness, in particular those events that create feelings of helplessness and exhaustion in their patients. Our results might help determine which patients stand in need of psychotherapeutic support or, in case of marked depression, of additional antidepressant medication and thus help prevent the onset of chronicity in patents with idiopathic low back pain."

Lampe A, Sollner W, Krismer M, et al. The impact of stressful life events on exacerbation of chronic low back pain. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 1998;44(5):555-563.

Subcategories

Back Pain After Auto Accidents

Browse our articles to learn about conditions caused by automotive accidents.