In our Aloha office, we see a lot of patients who are troubled with back pain, and a few of these folks have been informed they might need surgery to recover. Fortunately, Oregon Medical Centers has helped many people get pain relief without the need for any type of operation. The scientific research confirms the results we see in our practice. One study published in the academic journal Spine found that consulting with a chiropractor as your first move in overcoming with your back issues may actually keep you out of the operating room.
In this research study, medical professionals from Dartmouth analyzed statistics from about 1,900 workers from Washington state who first saw either a surgeon or a chiropractor for their low back issues. They then used three years' worth of follow-up medical records to ascertain whether the individuals ended up having back surgery in an effort to treat the problem.
What the researchers determined was that about 43% of the men and women who first consulted with a surgeon for their back issues ended up in surgery in that 3-year time span, whereas only 1.5% of those who first consulted with a chiropractor had the same fate. The authors wrote:
"Even after controlling for injury severity and other measures, workers with an initial visit for the injury to a surgeon had almost nine times the odds of receiving lumbar spine surgery compared to those seeing primary care providers, whereas workers whose first visit was to a chiropractor had significantly lower odds of surgery."
These are remarkable findings. Visiting a chiropractor drastically decreases your odds of getting back surgery, plus the chiropractic patients in this scientific study "had lower odds of chronic work disability" and they also had fewer expensive MRI tests.
Let's also consider this important detail: this study was conducted by orthopedic surgeons from Dartmouth College, and published in the world's most distinguished medical journal on spinal injuries.
Surgery: The Last Resort
Any surgical procedure has risks, but a serious downside linked to spinal surgery is that there's a very high failure rate. In an important analysis in the European Spine Journal, researchers wrote:
"Failed back surgery is a problem that has become sufficiently widespread to even warrant its own special conferences, with recent reviews reporting failure rates ranging from 5 to 50%."
The experts in this same study concluded:
"It is extremely difficult to identify unequivocal predictor factors that can be used to accurately predict the outcome of surgery."
As a chiropractor, Oregon Medical Centers believes that surgery should be the absolute last resort for treating back pain. Chiropractic care works to restore your spine to its normal function--without the need of high-risk surgery or drugs--and many studies have confirmed the usefulness of chiropractic for back pain.
If you live in Aloha and you need relief for your back pain, give our office a call today at (503) 642-2845 for a consultation or an appointment. We'll help get you back on the road to a pain-free life!
Studies
Dr. Bhasin grew up in Southern California and did her undergraduate work in pre-med at California State University Northridge, as well as Humboldt State University in California. Dr. Bhasin attended the University of Western States in Portland Oregon where she earned her Doctor of Chiropractic Degree. Dr. Bhasin has passed her National boards and her State Boards. Dr. Bhasin loves helping people and finds great joy helping injured people get out of pain and get their life back again. She has helped thousands of patients.
