Chiropractic Patients Less Likely to Undergo Lumbar Surgery

A study in the medical journal Spine found a strong association between chiropractic care and the avoidance of lumbar spine surgery. The American Chiropractic Association is encouraged by this and other recent research supporting chiropractic’s conservative, less costly approach to low-back pain.

Key findings of the Spine study show that:

  • Approximately 43 percent of patients who saw a surgeon first had surgery
  • Only 1.5 percent of those who saw a chiropractor first ended up having surgery

Two additional studies reinforce ACA’s longstanding position that health care providers should start with conservative approaches to treatment, such as the services provided by doctors of chiropractic, before guiding their patients to less conservative alternatives. Such an approach benefits patients and cuts health care spending—especially for a condition as common as low-back pain.

“As governments and health systems around the globe search for answers to complicated health challenges such as rising numbers of chronically ill and disabled patients and runaway costs, research is finally demonstrating what the chiropractic profession has promoted for years: that caring for patients with conservative treatments first, before moving on to less conservative options or unnecessary drugs and surgery, is a sensible and cost-effective strategy,” said ACA President Keith Overland, DC.

Original Article