Groton Chiropractic Care Instead of an Emergency Room Visit and Pain Meds for Back Pain

Emergency room physicians are working on figuring out what is optimal to do for back pain patients who choose the ER for help. It is a quandry for them, particularly since nearly 3 million such patients with undifferentiated musculoskeletal low back pain visit the emergency room for help each year! (1) Unless there is cauda equina syndrome demanding surgery or an infection, pain is the issue. How best can a Groton ER doc help? How can an ER doctor deliver higher value care? (2) Imaging and medication. What can the Groton chiropractic back pain specialist offer? Spinal manipulation and nutrients. Chiropractic has published about successful management of back pain.

EMERGENCY ROOM: IMAGING

The ER performs lots of imaging. One in 3 patients who visit the emergency room for back pain (as opposed to 1 in 4 who visit a primary care physician) has imaging ordered: simple imaging 26%, complex imaging 8.2%. (3) Today’s imaging guidelines do not support this as they say to hold off on imaging for 4-6 weeks of conservative care before imaging. (4) Maybe patients are letting the ER doctors know that they have been using such care already? Not likely since only 34% of patients who visit an ER share with the emergency department physician that they get healthcare options like chiropractors, massage therapy, acupuncture and the like. (5) What about the pain?

EMERGENCY ROOM: MEDICATIONS

Relief for the pain is what they focus on. Researchers have studied a variety of pain medication combinations ER doctors have used to figure out what works best. What have they found? Stronger pain medication options don’t offer much of a difference. Adding baclofen, metaxalone, or tizanidine to ibuprofen doesn’t appear to up function or pain any more than placebo plus ibuprofen by 1 week after an ED visit for acute low back pain. (6,7) Mixing ibuprofen and acetaminophen did not decrease pain scores or the need for other analgesic pain meds compared with either ibuprofen or acetaminophen alone in emergency room patients with acute musculoskeletal injuries. (8) As a matter of fact, 48% of back pain patients who visit an emergency room for their back pain still had functional impairment 3 months later as well as 42% said they had moderate or severe pain. 46% say they’ve used some type of analgesic pain reliever in the day prior. There are short and long-term issues for ER patients with low back pain. (1) This may all be frustrating for ER docs and their patients but not typically for chiropractors and their chiropractic back pain patients. The Groton chiropractic back pain specialist at Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office is equipped with the best of chiropractic care for Groton back pain relief.

CHIROPRACTIC: MANIPULATION AND NUTRIENTS

Your Groton chiropractor understands. Skill with chiropractic spinal manipulation via The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management with the addition of nutrition like chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine sulfate and curcurmin and turmeric boosts your Groton chiropractor’s confidence that back pain relief and management for many otherwise frustrated Groton back pain patients is promising.

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Michael Schneider on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson who describes the role of the primary spine physician who would be the physician to seek out for back pain issues.

CONTACT Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office

Schedule a Groton chiropractic appointment with Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office especially if an emergency department visit has not resulted in the pain relief you hoped. Groton chiropractic care has shared a well-documented and researched way to manage back pain.