In our Redondo Beach practice, we see many patients who are suffering from back pain, and some of these patients have been informed they might need surgery to recover. Thankfully, Dr. Vinick has helped many people get relief without the need for any type of operation. The science agrees with the success we see in our office. One study published in the medical journal Spine found that consulting with a chiropractor as your first step in dealing with your back pain may literally keep you out of the operating room.
In this report, medical experts from Dartmouth reviewed statistics from about 1,900 workers from Washington state who first saw either an orthopedic surgeon or a chiropractor for their back-related issues. They then looked at three years' worth of follow-up medical records to determine whether the individuals ended up having back surgery in an attempt to correct the issue.
What the researchers found was that 42.7% of the patients who first saw a surgeon for their back issues ended up with surgery in that 3-year time frame, whereas only 1.5% of those who first consulted with a chiropractor had the same fate. The authors wrote:
"Even after controlling for injury severity and other measures, workers with an initial visit for the injury to a surgeon had almost nine times the odds of receiving lumbar spine surgery compared to those seeing primary care providers, whereas workers whose first visit was to a chiropractor had significantly lower odds of surgery."
These are remarkable outcomes. Visiting a chiropractor dramatically decreases your odds of getting back surgery, plus the chiropractic patients in this scientific study "had lower odds of chronic work disability" and they also had fewer expensive MRI tests.
Let's also keep in mind this important point: this study was carried out by orthopedic surgeons from Dartmouth College, and printed in the world's most distinguished medical publication on spinal injuries.
Surgery: The Last Resort
Any surgery has risks, but a major problem associated with spine surgery is that there's a very high failure rate. In an important review in the European Spine Journal, researchers wrote:
"Failed back surgery is a problem that has become sufficiently widespread to even warrant its own special conferences, with recent reviews reporting failure rates ranging from 5 to 50%."
The authors of this same study concluded:
"It is extremely difficult to identify unequivocal predictor factors that can be used to accurately predict the outcome of surgery."
As a chiropractor, Dr. Vinick is convinced that surgery should be the absolute last choice for treating back pain. Chiropractic care works to restore your spine to its normal function--without high-risk surgery or drugs--and many research studies have documented the efficacy of chiropractic for back pain.
If you live in Redondo Beach and you need relief for your back pain, give our office a call today at (310) 375-4325 for a consultation or an appointment. We'll help get you back on the road to a pain-free life!
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