Treatment of Patients with Low Back Pain: A Comparison of Physical Therapy and Chiropractic Manipulation

Associations Between Early Chiropractic Care and Physical Therapy on Subsequent Opioid Use Among Persons With Low Back Pain in Arkansas

Objective

The objective of this study was to estimate the association between early use of physical therapy (PT) or chiropractic care and incident opioid use and long-term opioid use in individuals with a low back pain (LBP) diagnosis.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from Arkansas All Payers' Claims Database. Adults with incident LBP diagnosed in primary care or emergency departments between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2017, were identified. Participants were required to be opioid naïve in the 6-month baseline period and without cancer, cauda equina syndrome, osteomyelitis, lumbar fracture, and paraplegia/quadriplegia in the entire study period. PT and chiropractic treatment were documented over the ensuing 30 days starting on the date of LBP. Any opioid use and long-term opioid use (LTOU) in 1-year follow-up were assessed. Multivariable logistic regressions controlling for covariates were estimated.

Results

A total of 40 929 individuals were included in the final sample, with an average age of 41 years and 65% being women. Only 5% and 6% received PT and chiropractic service, respectively, within the first 30 days. Sixty-four percent had incident opioid use, and 4% had LTOU in the follow-up period. PT was not associated with incident opioid use (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98-1.18) or LTOU (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.97-1.45). Chiropractic care decreased the odds of opioid use (OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.80-0.97) and LTOU (OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.40-0.77).

Conclusion

In this study we found that receipt of chiropractic care, though not PT, may have disrupted the need for opioids and, in particular, LTOU in newly diagnosed LBP.

Clinical Effectiveness and Efficacy of Chiropractic Spinal Manipulation for Spine Pain

Spine pain is a highly prevalent condition affecting over 11% of the world's population. It is the single leading cause of activity limitation and ranks fourth in years lost to disability globally, representing a significant personal, social, and economic burden. For the vast majority of patients with back and neck pain, a specific pathology cannot be identified as the cause for their pain, which is then labeled as non-specific. In a growing proportion of these cases, pain persists beyond 3 months and is referred to as chronic primary back or neck pain. To decrease the global burden of spine pain, current data suggest that a conservative approach may be preferable. One of the conservative management options available is spinal manipulative therapy (SMT), the main intervention used by chiropractors and other manual therapists. The aim of this narrative review is to highlight the most relevant and up-to-date evidence on the effectiveness (as it compares to other interventions in more pragmatic settings) and efficacy (as it compares to inactive controls under highly controlled conditions) of SMT for the management of neck pain and low back pain. Additionally, a perspective on the current recommendations on SMT for spine pain and the needs for future research will be provided. In summary, SMT may be as effective as other recommended therapies for the management of non-specific and chronic primary spine pain, including standard medical care or physical therapy. Currently, SMT is recommended in combination with exercise for neck pain as part of a multimodal approach. It may also be recommended as a frontline intervention for low back pain. Despite some remaining discrepancies, current clinical practice guidelines almost universally recommend the use of SMT for spine pain. Due to the low quality of evidence, the efficacy of SMT compared with a placebo or no treatment remains uncertain. Therefore, future research is needed to clarify the specific effects of SMT to further validate this intervention. In addition, factors that predict these effects remain to be determined to target patients who are more likely to obtain positive outcomes from SMT.

Systematic review on the incidence of low back pain as well as on the rehabilitation treatment methods used

Introduction. Low back pain is a growing condition both in terms of sampling and incidence, reaching to affect any of us at some point. Material and method. In order to write the article, four international libraries were used, where search criteria were used such as: "low back pain", "low back pain incidence" and "low back pain treatment". The articles used in this paper were carefully selected according to their relevance for this study, but only considered articles published in 2020. Results and discussions. The obtained results indicated that both physical therapy and physiotherapy have beneficial effects in ameliorating the symptoms generated by low back pain, but due to the lack of an optimal protocol patients turn to alternative therapies that have shown greater efficacy than physical therapy in amelioration. symptoms generated by low back pain. Conclusions. The lack of an optimal physiotherapeutic treatment protocol causes patients to turn to alternative therapies that are more effective, as well as a lower cost per treatment.