What Treatments Help Mechanical Low Back Pain?

Chiropractic has been shown to be both safe and effective for the treatment of mechanical low back pain.  For example, a study published back in 1990 in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) compared Chiropractic care to hospital outpatient treatment and found:  “Chiropractic treatment was more effective than hospital outpatient management, mainly for patients with chronic or severe back pain.  A benefit of about 7% points on the Oswestry scale was seen at two years.  The benefit of chiropractic treatment became more evident throughout the follow-up period.  Secondary outcome measures also showed that chiropractic was more beneficial.”

The study concluded, “For patients with low back pain in whom manipulation is not contraindicated, chiropractic almost certainly confers worthwhile, long-term benefit in comparison with hospital outpatient management. The benefit is seen mainly in those with chronic or severe pain.”

It is great that Chiropractic care can help low back pain, but the main goal of any treatment should be to get you out of pain AND prevent your pain from coming back.

New research published in Arthritis Care & Research, the journal of the American College of Rheumatology, shows that being engaged in manual tasks involving awkward positions can increase an individual’s risk for a low back injury by up to 800%. Researchers also found that those who are distracted or fatigued while performing physical tasks are also at significantly higher risk for a low back injury.