Chiropractic Care vs Prescription Drugs

​One of the most common issues we see in our practice is low back pain. Often, these patients are presenting after a long struggle with low back pain and have invested their time and money into different modalities of care.
 
Chiropractic care has long been established as an effective nonpharmacological treatment for low back pain and is supported by several clinical practice guidelines. Opioid analgesic therapy is a commonly used prescription drug therapy for low back pain in older people.
 
A recent study collected patient feedback comparing spinal manipulative therapy (as provided by chiropractors) and prescription drug therapy (as provided by medical practitioners) for the treatment of chronic low back pain in the older adult population.
 
Generally, older adults who have received various treatments for low back pain report higher satisfaction with chiropractic care compared to medical care in the short term but there is less evidence for either type of care in the long term.
 
A total of 195 older adults with chronic low back pain participated in a survey measuring patient satisfaction and health related quality of life. Of these participants, long-term recipients of spinal manipulative therapy had higher self-reported rates of health-related quality of life than the long-term recipients of prescription drug therapy.
 
There still needs to be more research for this result to be conclusive but chiropractic care is an easily applicable method of care to aid in the management of low back without the use of pharmaceuticals.
 
 

1. Kizhakkeveettil, A., Bezdjian, S., Hurwitz, E. L., Toler, A., Rossi, D., Uptmor, S., Sagester, K., Bangash, M., MacKenzie, T. A., Lurie, J. D., Coulter, I., Haldeman, S., & Whedon, J. M. (2022). Spinal Manipulation vs Prescription Drug Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain: Beliefs, Satisfaction With Care, and Qualify of Life Among Older Medicare Beneficiaries. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics, S0161-4754(21)00117-2. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2021.12.007