Manahawkin Chiropractic Care Instead of an Emergency Room Visit and Pain Meds for Back Pain
Emergency room physicians are trying to figure out what is optimal to offer back pain patients who choose the ER for help. It’s a dilemma for them, particularly since nearly 3 million such patients with undifferentiated musculoskeletal low back pain choose the emergency room for help annually! (1) Unless there is cauda equina syndrome demanding surgery or an infection, pain is the issue. How best can a Manahawkin ER doc help? How can an ER doctor provide higher value care? (2) Imaging and medication. What can the Manahawkin chiropractic back pain specialist provide? Spinal manipulation and nutrients. Chiropractic has published about successfully managing back pain.
EMERGENCY ROOM: IMAGING
The ER orders lots of imaging. One in 3 patients who visit the emergency room for back pain (as opposed to 1 in 4 who seek care from a primary care physician) gets imaging ordered: simple imaging 26%, complex imaging 8.2%. (3) Today’s imaging recommendations do not support this as they recommend holding off on imaging for 4-6 weeks of conservative care before imaging. (4) Maybe patients are telling ER doctors that they have been using such care already? Not likely as only 34% of patients who go to an ER share with the emergency department physician that they use healthcare options like chiropractors, massage therapy, acupuncture and the like. (5) What about the pain?
EMERGENCY ROOM: MEDICATIONS
Pain relief, it seems, is what they can offer. Researchers have studied all sorts of pain medication combinations ER doctors have prescribed to determine what works best. What have they discovered? Stronger pain medication options do not offer much of a difference. Adding baclofen, metaxalone, or tizanidine to ibuprofen does not seem to enhance 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 for emergency room patients with acute musculoskeletal injuries. (8) As a matter of fact, 48% of back pain patients who go to an ER for their back pain continued to experience 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 might be frustrating for emergency department docs and their patients but not always for chiropractors and their chiropractic back pain patients. The Manahawkin chiropractic back pain specialist at Manahawkin Chiropractic Center is prepared with the best of chiropractic care for Manahawkin back pain relief.
CHIROPRACTIC: MANIPULATION AND NUTRIENTS
Your Manahawkin 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 supports your Manahawkin chiropractor’s confidence that back pain relief and management for many otherwise frustrated Manahawkin back pain patients is promising.
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Michael Schneider on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson who shares the goal of the primary spine physician who would be the physician to seek out for back pain issues.
CONTACT Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
Schedule a Manahawkin chiropractic appointment with Manahawkin Chiropractic Center especially if an emergency department trip hasn’t resulted in the pain relief you hoped. Manahawkin chiropractic care has shared a well-documented and researched way to manage back pain.
