Originally announced briefly in an earlier issue of Dynamic Chiropractic, a study published in Spine examined the potential benefits of adding "chiropractic manipulative therapy" (CMT) to "standard medical care" (SMC) for 18-35-year-old active-duty military personnel with low back pain (LBP).1 The pragmatic, patient-centered, two-arm, randomized, controlled trial pilot study was funded by a grant from the Samueli Institute and conducted from February 2008 – June 2009 at William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC) at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas.
This study compared standard medical care to standard medical care plus chiropractic manipulative therapy, with SMC including "any or all of the following: a focused history and physical examination, diagnostic imaging as indicated, education about self-management including maintaining activity levels as tolerated, pharmacological management with the use of analgesics and anti-inflammatory agents, and physical therapy and modalities such as heat/ice and referral to a pain clinic."
Patients who received CMT as well as SMC "were scheduled for up to 2 visits weekly with a doctor of chiropractic (DC) for a period of 4 weeks. The initial visit with the DC included a focused history and physical examination and diagnostic imaging as indicated. Treatments consisted of HVLA manipulation as the primary approach in all cases, with ancillary treatments at the doctor's discretion." Progress was measured at both two weeks and four weeks, with results summarized by the study authors as follows:
The study also noted: "[P]articipants in the SMC group were twice as likely to have received medication as those in the SMC plus CMT group. It is difficult to attribute improvement to any 1 component of the care provided. Both treatment groups combined medication with physical modalities and medication was prescribed in less than half of the patients. However, our results suggest that the somewhat increased medication use in the SMC group did not confer a significant benefit."
In addition to the improved outcomes chiropractic can provide military personnel, these results present an opportunity for non-military DCs and primary-care MDs to work together. Most back pain suffers will see one of more than 200,000 primary-care medical physicians before they see a doctor of chiropractic. DCs should consider purchasing a copy of this study and sharing it with MDs in their community. It is a little pricey, but may be the best $59 you've ever spent. Visit http://journals.lww.com/spinejournal/ and type "Christine Goertz" (the lead study author) in the upper-left search box to access and purchase the article
References
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Some doctors thrive in a personality-based clinic and have a loyal following no matter what services or equipment they offer, but for most chiropractic offices who are trying to grow and expand, new equipment purchases help us stay relevant and continue to service our client base in the best, most up-to-date manner possible. So, regarding equipment purchasing: should you lease, get a bank loan, or pay cash?
