Research makes the healthcare world go ‘round! Research grounds
the role of healthcare’s relief of pain. In
chiropractic healthcare, much research entails providing
evidence of chiropractic’s benefit for painful musculoskeletal pain
issues like back pain, neck pain, arm
pain and sciatic leg pain. Spine & Sports Rehab Center offers just such research-documented, effective care to our
Baton Rouge chiropractic patients.
CHALLENGE: DO HIGH QUALITY RESEARCH
One group of back pain researchers
challenged fellow researchers to come up with long-term
plans to lower the burden of low back pain
on sufferers and healthcare systems. They described
that developing effective strategies continues to be a
huge job for back pain clinicians, doctors, and
researchers. Vexingly, back pain disability levels have not
increased despite an increased quantity of
published research papers regarding back pain care.
No consensus on the optimal way to handle low back pain
has been agreed upon. Non-drug and non-invasive methods
like exercise, manual therapy, massage, and such are general
recommendations. Other reviewing researchers indicated a few issues with back pain research: design
and analysis within the treatment clinical trials. (1) Designing research
studies is difficult. Designing 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 discussion!) Observational studies are the
next best thing. 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. Spine & Sports Rehab Center feels this mix of
research support helps outline the expectations our Baton Rouge chiropractic
patients may anticipate.
MINIMAL CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
Occasionally, chiropractic
physicians and low back pain patients alike are frustrated
with the outcomes of treatment for back pain. They should not
be! In medicine, the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) is reported 30% or 20% and even 10% improvement. That is reported as 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 30 days and that the 50% relief is closer to
70% or 80% or 90%! Sometimes, a patient’s response may be slower in getting
relief or only reaches 30% or 40%. Some patients desire more while
others, especially patients who have previously
undergone back surgery or sought non-relieving care
from many other providers, are thrilled. A study
of 1232 low back pain subjects found a MCID pain intensity of
2 (meaning a 2 point change on a scale of 0 no pain to 10 worst
imaginable pain). That’s not a big move but is realistic.
(2) It is a statistic to share. Weighed against medical and surgical outcomes for back pain treatment that are as low
as 10% or 30% expected improvement MCID, our Baton Rouge 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, has a little more effort
in keeping research flowing as many
programs are not incorporated into large university situations
with well-established and well-funded research departments. Global
chiropractic researchers are seeking 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 stimulate
more chiropractic research. US-based researchers are turning to
the RAND Corporation’s Center for Collaborative CIH Research to combine
research talent and assets to advance
chiropractic’s quality and quantity of research. (3,4) Robust 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 Spine & Sports Rehab Center
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
explains research studies he’s managed.
Make your next Baton Rouge
chiropractic appointment today. Bring your questions about the research
supporting our chiropractic care with you! Spine & Sports Rehab Center loves to share research!