A call to action on lower back pain remedies has been issued by prominent international researchers in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet. Recommendations include:

• Coordinated international leadership to drive transformational change across health and social services and occupational settings to stop fragmented and outdated models of care

• Development of evidence-based medical responses to low back pain emphasizing the concept of ‘positive health’ — the ability to adapt and self-manage in the face of social, physical and emotional challenges

• Avoidance of what the authors call harmful and useless medical treatments through the adoption of a similar framework to drug regulation — i.e. only include them in public reimbursement packages if proven safe, effective and cost-effective. “across the globe (there is) inappropriately high use of imaging, rest, opioids, spinal injections and surgery. doing more of the same will not reduce low back pain disability nor its long term consequences.”

• Public health campaigns to address the widespread population and health professional misconceptions about the causes and prognosis of low back pain and the effectiveness of different treatments

• Funding to support intensified research efforts that test promising solutions to the problem of low-value care and address fundamental gaps in our understanding of how to prevent low back pain, and how best to manage low back pain in low and middle-income countries.

The most promising solution: hands-on care by a chiropractor, a Doctor of Chiropractic, an expert in diagnosing and relieving lower back pain.

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