How Chiropractic Can Help a Back Injury

Whether minor or debilitating, most people (around 80 percent of the global population!)  will experience back pain or injury at least during some point in their lifetime. Your back is one of the most susceptible parts of your body, because consistent use lends itself to sudden injury, accidents, strains and sprains and daily wear and tear.

With around one million occurrences per year, back pain accounts for one in five injuries sustained in the workplace; it’s the most common reason for missed work only second to the common cold. In fact, it’s estimated that 100 billion dollars a year is spent by Americans, either directly or indirectly, because of pain suffering. Some of those expenses include:

•       Doctor visits
•       Medication
•       Surgeries
•       Loss of work
•       Legal costs
•       Insurance overheads

The Problem with Treatment

For those suffering from an acute back injury, pain may get better with gentle at-home treatments like heat and ice therapy and light activity. However, when the injury is more lasting and more debilitating, treatment options can be limited. Many are given different medications and muscle relaxers; more extreme cases are even recommended for surgery—and both can carry significant risks.

Medications not only mask the real problem, but they can also introduce a variety of frightening side effects and even dependency—something crucial to note during one of the largest drug epidemics in history. And back surgery patients don’t fare much better; although 600,000 back surgeries are performed in the U.S. each year, experts have begun to doubt the effectiveness of these procedures. And rightfully so—more than half of all back surgeries fail.

Chiropractic for Lasting Relief

So… what options do we have?

Back pain and injury are one of the most common reasons a patient may seek out chiropractic care; there’s a reason why the American College of Physicians recommends it first over more invasive treatment.

Studies and research demonstrate that chiropractic care is an effective method for treating back pain and injury. In fact, injured workers treated by a chiropractor, as opposed to a surgeon or medical doctor, may lower their chances of surgery by up to 41 percent. Not only is it a more cost-effective and safer form of therapy, but it also has some pretty amazing results for patients. According to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, pain-suffering patients who were treated with chiropractic had significantly greater pain-relief results—lasting over a year—than those treated with medication.

A chiropractor uses gentle adjustments to any misaligned vertebrae in the spine, restoring movement, decreasing irritation on nearby nerves and reducing pain. With an optimally functioning spine and healthy nervous system, the body is better able to heal itself.