Who’s Beating Back Pain in America and How Are They Doing It?

New Consumer Reports Data Highlight Patients’ Satisfaction with Chiropractic Care

When it comes to making important choices about treatment options for back pain, it’s worth looking at the experiences of others who have found something that works.  In recent years, the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center has surveyed the magazine’s subscribers to do just that.  In April and May 2009, Consumer Reports released some of its findings publicly.  A summary appears below. 

About the Survey Participants
• More than 14,000 participants who had suffered from lower-back pain in the prior year but had never had back surgery.
• More than half reported that pain severely limited their daily routine for a week or longer.
• Many reported that pain interfered with sleep, sex and efforts to maintain a healthy weight.
• 88% reported that the pain recurred through the year.
• Most had tried five or six different treatments.

How Respondents Ranked the Healthcare Providers Who Had Treated Them

Healthcare Provider  Percent Who Were "Highly Satisfied With Treatment and Advice"*

Chiropractor   59%
Physical Therapist+  55%
Acupuncturist   53%
Physician, Specialist  44%
Physician, Primary Care  34%

*Defined as either Completely Satisfied or Very Satisfied.
+Difference in ranking for Physical Therapist and Acupuncturist were not statistically significant.

How Respondents Ranked Selected Back Pain Therapies

Therapy Percentage Who Reported that the Therapy "Helped a Lot"

Chiropractic Manipulation 58%
Prescription Drugs  45%
Over-the-Counter Drugs  22%

In July 2011, Consumer Reports published an updated report describing how Americans use alternative approaches to healthcare as well as their experience with various therapies and their providers.  Chiropractic care once again was reported to be the most popular approach to back pain relief and was ranked most highly in terms of patient satisfaction.

How The Doctors of Celar Chiropractic Can Help Relieve Back Pain

Dr. Mike and Dr. Dana can help relieve back pain and restore mobility by using a drug-free, hands-on technique called “spinal manipulation” or “chiropractic adjustment”.  He or she may also use other manual therapies, such as massage, to complement this primary treatment.  In addition, they are skilled in designing exercise programs for their patients that will help their bodies resist injury and function properly.  They also can help instruct you on improving your daily activities and diet to help restore wellness. By focusing on both immediate pain relief and the underlying causes of back pain, your chiropractors can help you achieve a healthier overall lifestyle.

If you or someone you care about is suffering from back pain, call Celar Chiropractic at 708-449-5900 today. Also visit us at http://www.celarchiro.com/.

References
Relief for your aching back: What Worked for Our Readers.  Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center.  April-May 2009.  Accessed August 2011.         http://www.consumerreports.org/health/conditions-and-treatments/back-pain/overview/back-pain.htm 

Lasting Headache Relief Without Visiting the Medicine Cabinet

Headaches are a common source of pain for a large number of Americans.  95% of women and 90% of men have had at least one in the 12 months.  And for about 45 million of us, those headaches are chronic. 

While a wide variety of over-the-counter and prescription medications have been developed to relieve this pain, they generally do little to address the underlying cause of the problem.  In addition, many of these compounds can have unwanted side effects, particularly if they’re used often, over a prolonged period of time or in combination with other medicines.  A growing awareness of both the limitations and risks of pharmaceuticals has led many headache sufferers to explore alternative approaches to managing them, including chiropractic.

Understanding Headaches
Headaches occur for many reasons and can vary greatly in their intensity and duration.  They may arise on their own (these are termed “primary headaches” and account for about 90% of all headaches) or be triggered as a result of some other health condition (described as “secondary headaches”). 

Chiropractic physicians most commonly encounter three types of headaches in their work:

• Tension headaches are primary headaches that are brought on by unrelieved muscular contractions in the head, neck and shoulders, usually as a result of stress that cannot find an outlet.  These muscular contractions can themselves become the source of broader tension and stress throughout the body, setting in motion a feedback loop that eventually produces a headache.

• Migraine headaches are also primary headaches.  They are sometimes referred to as vascular headaches because they happen when blood vessels in the head suddenly expand, or “dilate”.  However, we know that the nervous system and genetic factors are also leading contributors.  Sufferers report a wide range of triggers and related symptoms.  Research into the exact cause of migraines is ongoing, and the condition has stubbornly resisted efforts to find a pharmaceutical “silver bullet”.

• Cervicogenic headaches are secondary headaches produced when pain begins in the neck or back of the head and is referred to the forehead or the area behind, in and around the eyes.  Trauma, chronic tension and disease are some of the more common initial sources of neck pain that is referred to the head.  Trigger points in the neck, shoulder blade and spine may also be sources of these headaches, though they can be much more difficult to identify.

How Chiropractic Can Help
There is a large and growing body of medical research that suggests chiropractic care can be effective in preventing or reducing the frequency and severity of primary headaches.  There is also some evidence that it may have benefits for cervicogenic headache sufferers. 
Chiropractic manipulation of the spine and neck is used to improve the alignment of the spine and relieve muscle tension.  It also reduces nerve irritation and improves vascular flow.  Your chiropractic physician may also include massage and other therapies as part of a well-rounded treatment plan.  He or she will likely suggest exercise, stretching and relaxation techniques as well as nutritional strategies designed to help prevent future headaches.

If you or someone you know is looking for lasting relief from chronic headaches, we encourage you to call Celar Chiropractic today.  The sooner you make the call, the sooner we can help you put an end to the suffering.  

References
Headaches and Chiropractic.  American Chiropractic Association.  Accessed August 2011.http://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=2186
Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine.  AltMD.  Accessed August 2011.http://www.altmd.com/Articles/Headache--Encyclopedia-of-Alternative-Medicine
Information for Patients.  American Headache Society.  Accessed August 2011http://www.achenet.org/education/patients/index.asp
Research Spotlight:  Study of Spinal Manipulative Therapy for Neck-Related Headaches Reports Findings on Dose and Efficacy.  National Institutes of Health, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.  Accessed August 2011.http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/041310.htm
National Institutes of Health MedlinePlus.  Accessed August 2011.http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003024.htm