Research makes the healthcare world go ‘round! Research solidifies
the role of healthcare’s pain relieving ability. In
chiropractic healthcare, much research entails documenting chiropractic’s benefit for painful musculoskeletal pain
issues like back pain, neck pain, arm
pain and sciatic leg pain. Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka delivers just such research-documented, effective care to our
Sitka chiropractic patients.
CHALLENGE: DO HIGH QUALITY RESEARCH
One group of back pain researchers
challenged fellow researchers to develop long-term
plans to decrease the problem of low back pain
on sufferers and healthcare systems. They described
that developing effective strategies remains a
daunting task for back pain clinicians, doctors, and
researchers. Frustratingly, back pain disability levels have not
increased despite a larger number of
published research papers about back pain care.
No consensus on the best way to manage low back pain
has been agreed upon. Non-drug and non-invasive options
like exercise, manual therapy, massage, and such are general
recommendations. Other reviewing researchers pointed
to a few problems with back pain research: design
and analysis within the treatment clinical trials. (1) Designing research
studies is difficult. Designing a “sham”
protocol for spinal manipulation that feels like spinal
manipulation is really challenging. (Just touching a spine can
be relieving some, but that’s a topic for a
different discussion!) Observational studies are the
next best thing. How so? Researchers observe how
patients respond when they undergo treatment and note changes and effects. Fortuitously, Cox®
Technic research has a mix of biomechanical and clinical
observational studies resulting in case reports, case series, plus
retrospective and prospective clinical studies. Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka feels this mix of
research support helps define to our Sitka chiropractic patients
what clinical outcome relief they may expect.
MINIMAL CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
Occasionally, chiropractic
physicians and low back pain patients alike find themselves frustrated
with the outcomes of treatment for back pain. They shouldn’t
be! In medicine, the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) is reported 30% or 20% and even 10% improvement. That is reported as an “effective” outcome. Cox® Technic has proposed 50%
improvement in 30 days as the goal…and still does. Many
times, chiropractic patients realize that 50% relief in less
than a month and that the 50% relief is closer to
70% or 80% or 90%! Sometimes, a patient’s response may be slower in reaching
relief or only reaches 30% or 40%. Some patients desire more while
others, particularly patients who have previously
undergone back surgery or sought non-relieving care
from many other providers, are thrilled. A study
of 1232 low back pain subjects discovered a MCID pain intensity of
2 (meaning a 2 point move on a scale of 0 no pain to 10 worst
imaginable pain). That’s not a big move but is realistic.
(2) It is a statistic to consider. Compared
with medical and surgical outcomes for back pain treatment that are as low
as 10% or 30% expected improvement MCID, our Sitka chiropractic
clinical outcome objectives are high and frequently
achievable.
THE CHALLENGE OF CHIROPRACTIC RESEARCH – AND HOW CHIROPRACTIC
ANSWERS
Chiropractic, like other complementary and integrative
healthcare professions, has a little more effort
in keeping research flowing as many
programs are not in large university situations
with well-established and well-financed research departments. Global
chiropractic researchers are seeking am amswer. Australia, Canada, and Denmark chiropractic
researchers have created a leadership academy (CARL – Chiropractic
Academy for Research Leadership) for early-career chiropractic researchers to stimulate
more chiropractic research. US-based researchers are looking to
the RAND Corporation’s Center for Collaborative CIH Research to assemble
research talent and resources to elevate
chiropractic’s quality and quantity of research. (3,4) Robust research carries
on at chiropractic universities to record the
benefits of chiropractic for musculoskeletal-related pain like back pain, neck
pain, arm pain and leg pain.
CONTACT Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka
Listen to this PODCAST
with Ram Gudavalli, PhD, principal investigator of many Cox® Technic research
studies, on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
describes research studies he’s managed.
Make your next Sitka
chiropractic appointment soon. Bring your questions about the research
behind our chiropractic care with you! Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka loves to share research!