Chronic back pain is a problem that affects people in every corner of our globe. Year after year, the Global Burden of Disease Report places back pain at or near the top of its list of leading causes of disability worldwide. 

The World Health Organization agrees, in one report stating that “the incidence and prevalence of low back pain are roughly the same the world over … (and) such pain ranks high (often first) as a cause of disability and inability to work, as an interference with the quality of life, and as a reason for medical consultation.” 

In the US, more than $50 billion is spent each year to treat back pain. That doesn’t even take into consideration larger economic and societal costs that come with lower productivity and work absences leading to lost income. Regardless of where you feel it (in the neck, upper back or lower back), for those it affects, chronic pain often affects us acutely and for many years. 

Over the decades, there have been many thousands of anecdotal reports from patients who have found relief from chronic pain as the result of chiropractic treatment. 

There have also been a growing number of research studies that documented pain relief after chiropractic treatment, especially with regard to decreased sensitivity to pain and inproved function. Nevertheless, there are those who will suggest that the improved outcomes experienced from chiropractic are the result of the “placebo effect” rather than chiropractic therapy itself. 

Here are the results of a few recent reviews and studies as reported by various medical publications. 

One study entitled, “Effect of Usual Medical Care Plus Chiropractic Care vs Usual Medical Care Alone on Pain and Disability Among US Service Members With Low Back Pain” provides one example. Published in 2018, the study evaluated the addition of chiropractic care to typical medical care among US service members. The results were clearly in favour of chiropractic: “Adjusted mean differences in scores at week 6 were statistically significant in favor of usual medical care plus chiropractic care compared with usual medical care alone.” The authors noted that the trial provides additional support for the inclusion of chiropractic in a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of lower back pain. 

Another publication from 2019 reviewed 47 randomized controlled trials including 9,211 patients to determine the potential benefits and harms of chiropractic for treating low back pain. The authors found the studies in their entirety suggest that chiropractic performed better than other recommended therapies at restoring function and had similar effectiveness as recommended therapies at reducing pain. 

One of the studies reviewed by the researchers was a 2014 study from the University of Florida, and provides demonstrable evidence that the pain relief from spinal manipulation therapy is the result of chiropractic rather than the result of patient expectations. 

In this study, researchers assigned 110 participants suffering from chronic back pain randomly to four groups. The control group received no intervention at all, the Spinal Manipulation Therapy (SMT) group received legitimate spinal manipulation (chiropractic) therapy, a third group received placebo chiropractic manipulations designed to simulate chiropractic treatment, and a fourth group received “enhanced” placebo SMT along with instructions which said “The manual therapy technique you will receive has been shown to significantly reduce low back pain in some people.” 

Patients received their treatments or mock treatments six times over a period of 2 weeks.  Pain sensitivity was assessed at the start and again at the end of the experiment. The study design was intended to determine how much pain relief experienced by the test subjects was due to the placebo effect.

Results showed that more participants receiving the enhanced placebo SMT indicated good to excellent outcomes than those receiving standard placebo SMT or no treatment. A significant difference was not found between subjects receiving SMT and the enhanced placebo. Consequently, the researchers attributed the pain relief to SMT itself and not the placebo. 

These studies are important to us at Rice Family Chiropractic. We take an evidence based approach to our health and our patients’ health regardless of whether that pertains to our body or our minds. This holistic approach is useful in keeping us healthy in all aspects of our lives from family and friends to work and spirituality. 

If you have any questions about how chiropractic care can help you or your family, please call us to set up an appointment. We look forward to your visit.. 

 Rice Family Chiropractic

Wellness from our family to yours.

Dr. Erin and James Rice

#310-6525 204 Street

Langley, BC V2Y 3B3

604 539 0542