The Back Pain Article You Haven’t Seen Yet
By Jeff Williams, Amarillo Chiropractor
Here is a question to consider: “If your primary doctor gave you a prescription to go to the chiropractor, would you do it?” Think about it. Even if you are traditionally one that would question the effectiveness of chiropractic, although you have never given it a chance. If your doctor, whom you trust, told you to go to the chiropractor, what would you do?
My guess is that 80%+ would probably set up that appointment and go to the chiropractor.
There is still a prevailing thought when someone receives a diagnosis of having a herniated disc or a bulging disc. They tend to immediately think, “Oh no, now I have to have surgery.”
It’s that simple and it is that fast.
Who could blame them? Living in the allopathic, Western medicine world that we live in, we are all aware that for years now, they start with muscle relaxers and pain killers. Then they progress to physical therapy or epidural steroid injections and/or surgery.
That has been the natural progression of back pain and disc injuries for at least a couple of generations. But is that really the best way to do it in 2019?
Well, the short answer is an emphatic, “Absolutely NOT!”
Just like the medical world had its beginnings in the three “L’s” (Leeching, bloodLetting, and Lobotomies), they learn, progress, and refine things. While back pain is still the leading cause of disability globally and nobody has the definitive treatment for ALL back pain patients, we know much more these days than we did even five years ago.
For instance, the ‘go-to’ treatments I just mentioned, we now know, (besides physical therapy) are actually the last things we should be doing rather than the first things we should be doing.
You MUST understand this concept: the research leading to these recommendations has been done by those in the medical field, chiropractors, physical therapists, insurance companies, and even governments. In addition, the research has been published in the most respected medical journals around the globe.
That means if you have a particular bias against chiropractic in general, you are going to need to re-adjust your point of view.
Yes, there are some predatory chiropractors that take advantage of patients and practice unethically. I would argue that this is a fact fo life in literally ALL professions to some extent. Including the medical profession.
These recommendations for “chiropractic care first” are in regard to chiropractors practicing under widely accepted and approved guidelines. The chiropractors that put the patients’ needs above their own personal financial gain.
These recommendations either come from or were published in, some of the most respected sources in the medical profession. The American College of Physicians, The Lancet Medical Journal, The British Medical Journal, The Journal of the American Medical Association, The American Pain Society, The Joint Commission, the FDA, and the CDC.
There is no longer any need to simply take the word of chiropractors who ‘have a dog in the hunt’ to borrow a Southern colloquialism.
If your trust has always been primarily in the allopathic world, or you have a long-held anti-chiropractic bias, then you can relax and make your chiropractic appointment today knowing that the medical world is on board with spinal manipulative therapy, exercise, massage, acupuncture, and low-level laser. All things commonly done in chiropractic offices. The medical world is now OK with chiropractic and you should be too.
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Dr. Jeff Williams, DC, FIANM is a Fellowship-trained Neuromusculoskeletal specialist and chiropractor in Amarillo, TX. As an Amarillo chiropractor, Dr. Williams treats chronic pain, disc pain, low back pain, neck pain, whiplash injuries, and more. Dr. Williams is also the host of The Chiropractic Forward Podcast (http://www.chiropracticforward.com). Through the podcast, Dr. Williams teaches fellow chiropractors and advocates weekly for evidence-based, patient-centered practice through current and relevant research. If you have any questions for Dr. Williams, feel free to email at [email protected]Learn more about Dr. Williams and his practice at https://www.amarillochiropractor.com.
Dr. Williams's full-time Amarillo chiropractic practice is Creek Stone Integrated Care at 3501 SW 45th St., Ste. T, Amarillo, TX 79109. If you are searching for a chiropractor near me, Dr. Williams is your Amarillo Chiropractor.
