Harvard Medical School’s (yes, that Harvard) new spinal care guidelines reinforce the importance of chiropractic care as the first line of treatment for low back pain. They’re just the latest to join a long line of mainstream medicine organizations that includes the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the American College of Physicians (ACP) to come out in support of chiropractic care in their latest guidelines when it comes to back pain. “In most [back pain] cases you won’t need a specialist,” says Harvard-affiliated rheumatologist Dr. Robert Shmerling, and a good place to start is with your chiropractor who can assess your pain and in most cases treat it.
At Cedar Park Chiropractic we are constantly reminding our Austin area patients that the order of priority for treating back and neck problems should be chiropractic first, drugs second, and surgery only as a last resort. Chiropractic is one of the best ways to naturally and safely improve your musculoskeletal health, with a growing body of research showing that chiropractic is the best choice for patients suffering from both acute and chronic back pain and neck pain.
What’s more, Harvard Medical School has also recently come out in vocal support of chiropractic care for conditions beyond back pain:
“Most research on chiropractic has focused on spinal manipulation for back pain. Chiropractic treatment for many other problems—including other musculoskeletal pain, headaches, asthma, carpal tunnel syndrome, and fibromyalgia—has also been studied. A recent review concluded that chiropractic spinal manipulation may be helpful for back pain, migraine, neck pain, and whiplash.”
Since you shouldn’t try to diagnose your own back pain, your first call should be to a doctor who specializes in finding and treating the cause of your back pain: Dr. Jeff Swanson. 35% to 42% of people with their first episode of back pain will consult a chiropractor as their entry point to treatment.
Read the full article at Harvard Health.
For more information you can book an online appointment 24/7 at www.cedarparkchiro.com