Groton Chiropractic and Back Pain Relief Expectations via Surgical or Conservative Care

What expectations do you have of your Groton chiropractic care of back pain? That is a key question. Research is reporting that that questions of expectations plays a role in back pain treatment outcome whether that treatment is surgical or conservative. Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office aims to listen to you and your expectations of our Groton back pain treatment and share what our treatment’s outcomes have been in practice and in research.

INFLUENTIAL EXPECTATIONS FOR BACK SURGERY OUTCOMES

A new research project scrutinized patient and surgeon expectations of back surgery. Patients expected full relief and improvement of their back pain after lumbar spine surgery. Surgeons expected improvement that varied from a little to a lot dependant on the patient and his/her specific condition. Whose expectations were met? The surgeons’ expectations. A couple years after the back surgery, the patient-reported outcomes met the surgeon’s expectations. The researchers emphasized that effective communication about expectations may well foster better outcomes. (1) That’s why Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office devotes time to each Groton back pain patient early on in care, ensuring that the source of pain and its treatment plan are well-explained. If not, tell us!

AN ACCEPTABLE SYMPTOM STATE

If initial patient expectations are not  met with back surgery, what is an “acceptable symptom state” for that back pain patient? What can he/she live with? For patients with chronic non-specific low back pain (with or without active discopathy), 54% reported having an acceptable symptom state at 1 month of care. Specifically, patient-reported acceptable symptoms included: 47.5 for lumbar pain, 30.5 for radicular pain, 39.3 for disability, 10.0 for anxiety, and 6.7 for depression. (2) Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office knows no pain is the preferred state and is prepared to discuss with our Groton chiropractic patients their options and possible outcomes.

DECIDING ON TREATMENT OPTIONS

Deciding whether to have back surgery is a big decision. Evidence-based medicine sees that the patient at the center of care. What is the patient perspective of this care? How is the patient perspective taken into consideration in treatment planning and choosing from available options? A new paper indicated that the patient’s social, psychological, and other non-clinical characteristics must be considered in planning care. (3) One issue in the back-surgery decision that reportedly influences the decision and the outcome expectation is opioid use. Lower dose and shorter-time-taking opioid use patients expected more complete improvement compared with non-users. They also had higher expectations of positive outcome than higher-dose opioid patients. (4) For a lot of patients, the prospect of work is a light at the end of the tunnel which is positive according to a new report on how back pain patient recovery expectations impact clinical outcomes. A review of 60 studies found that a patient’s recovery expectations are probably strongly associated with future work participation. (5) Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office applies effective, nonsurgical care of back pain to meet patient expectations once the research on outcomes for other back pain sufferers is presented and understood. Groton chiropractic care keeps the back pain patient at its center.

CONTACT Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office

Check out this PODCAST with Dr. Anthony Galante on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he described how Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management and chiropractic treatment assisted in the management of back pain for a patient who was absolutely positive about not wanting back surgery.

Make your next Groton chiropractic visit soon. Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office invites you to ponder and answer the question of your expectations for our treatment so that we can both be satisfied with the outcome!

 
Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office strives to meet realistic patient expectations when it comes to conservative back pain relief. 
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"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by Dr. James M. Cox I."