Research makes the healthcare world go ‘round! Research solidifies
the role of healthcare’s pain relieving ability. In
chiropractic healthcare, much research revolves around providing
evidence of chiropractic’s benefit for painful musculoskeletal pain
issues like neck pain, back pain, arm
pain and sciatic leg pain. Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation offers just such effective,
research-documented care to our
Carrolltown chiropractic patients.
CHALLENGE: DO HIGH QUALITY RESEARCH
One group of back pain researchers
challenged fellow researchers to develop long-term
plans to reduce the problem of low back pain
on sufferers and healthcare systems. They described
that developing effective strategies remains a
daunting job for back pain clinicians, doctors, and
researchers. Frustratingly, back pain disability levels have not
increased despite an increased quantity of
published research reports regarding back pain care.
No consensus on the best way to manage low back pain
has been agreed upon. Non-drug and non-invasive options
like exercise, manual therapy, massage, and such are typical
recommendations. Another group of reviewing researchers indicated a few problems with back pain research: design
and analysis within the treatment clinical trials. (1) Designing research
studies is difficult. Coming up with a “sham”
protocol for spinal manipulation that seems like spinal
manipulation is especially challenging. (Just touching a spine can
help some, but that’s a topic for another article!) Observational studies are the next in line. How so? Researchers observe what happens to patients when they experience treatment and make note of changes and effects. Fortunately, Cox®
Technic research has a mix of biomechanical and clinical
observational studies resulting in case reports, case series, as well as
retrospective and prospective clinical studies. Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation feels this mix of
research support helps outline the expectations our Carrolltown chiropractic
patients may anticipate.
MINIMAL CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
Sometimes, chiropractic
physicians and low back pain patients alike are disappointed
with the outcomes of treatment for back pain. They shouldn’t
be! In medicine, the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) is defined
as 30% or 20% and even 10% improvement. That is reported to
be an “effective” outcome. Cox® Technic has offered 50%
improvement in 30 days as the aim…and still does. Often, chiropractic patients find that 50% relief in fewer
than a month and that the 50% relief is closer to
70% or 80% or 90%! Sometimes, a patient’s response may be slower in attaining
relief or only reaches 30% or 40%. Some patients desire more while
others, particularly patients who have previously
undergone back surgery or sought non-relieving care
from many other providers, are excited. A study
of 1232 low back pain subjects discovered a MCID pain intensity of
2 (meaning a 2 point change on a scale of 0 no pain to 10 worst
imaginable pain). That is not a big move but is realistic.
(2) It is a statistic to consider. Weighed against medical and surgical outcomes for back pain treatment that are as low
as 10% or 30% expected improvement MCID, our Carrolltown chiropractic
clinical outcome objectives are high and frequently
achievable.
THE CHALLENGE OF CHIROPRACTIC RESEARCH – AND HOW CHIROPRACTIC
ANSWERS
Chiropractic, like other complementary and integrative
healthcare professions, experiences a little more difficulty
in maintaining a flow of research as many
programs are not in large university settings
with well-established and well-financed research departments. Global
chiropractic researchers are looking for a solution. Australia, Canada, and Denmark chiropractic
researchers have created a leadership academy (CARL – Chiropractic
Academy for Research Leadership) for early-career chiropractic researchers to promote
more chiropractic research. US-based researchers are looking to
the RAND Corporation’s Center for Collaborative CIH Research to assemble
research talent and assets to elevate
chiropractic’s quality and quantity of research. (3,4) Solid research continues at chiropractic universities to document the
benefits of chiropractic for musculoskeletal-related pain like back pain, neck
pain, arm pain and leg pain.
CONTACT Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation
Listen to this PODCAST
with Ram Gudavalli, PhD, principal investigator of many Cox® Technic research
studies, on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
illustrates research studies of which he’s been a
part.
Schedule your next Carrolltown
chiropractic appointment now. Bring your questions about the research
supporting our chiropractic care with you! Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation loves to share research!