With today’s growing emphasis on quality care, clinical outcomes and cost effectiveness, spinal manipulation is receiving increased attention.

Spinal manipulation by a chiropractor is a safe and effective spine pain treatment. It reduces pain (decreasing the need for medication in some cases), rapidly advances physical therapy, and requires very few passive forms of treatment, such as bed rest.

In fact, after an extensive study of all available care for low back problems, the Federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (now the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality) recommended that low back pain sufferers choose the most conservative care first. And it recommended spinal manipulation as the only safe and effective, drugless form of initial professional treatment for acute low back problems in adults.

A well-respected review of the evidence in the Annals of Internal Medicine pointed to chiropractic care as one of the major nonpharmacologic therapies considered effective for acute and chronic low back pain.

More recently, research has shown that there is strong evidence that spinal manipulation for back pain is just as effective as a combination of medical care and exercise, and moderate evidence that it is just as effective as prescription NSAIDS combined with exercise.

An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2013 also suggested chiropractic care as an option for people suffering from low back pain—and noted that surgery is usually not needed and should only be tried if other therapies fail.

Presented as a service to the community by: Union County Chiropractic Clinic, 110 Skyline Drive, Maynardville, TN (865) 992-7000 www.unioncountychiropractic.com