For Back Pain, Try Yoga and Chiropractic First, Study Suggests

A new study analyzing three years of workman’s compensation disability claims for back injuries In Washington State has concluded that patients might want to think twice about rushing to a surgeon for back injury and pain. It might just be worth considering alternative treatments such as chiropractic or yoga as therapy for back pain, before going under the knife.

Published in May of 2013 in the medical journal Spine, the study reported that those with back injuries who chose to see a surgeon were 28 times more likely to end up with surgery than those who went to see a chiropractor. Stated another way, only 1.5% of those who went first to a chiropractor required back surgery. In contrast, 43% of those who first visited a surgeon were deemed to require surgery.

Surely, there are likely a small number of people who will require an operation no matter what, but more and more, experts are recommending that people with back pain or back injuries pursue non-invasive treatments to start, like chiropractic or yoga. Surgery is not only a far more painful option, it also comes with serious risks of complications. Including sometime life threatening conditions like post-surgical pulmonary embolisms and deep vein thrombosis. 

There is a consistent message here: If you have a back injury, take the time to try an alternative therapy before visiting the surgeon. Both chiropractic and yoga have been documented to offer relief for back pain, and you may well find that you’ll be able to avoid surgery and all the possible complications of surgery, and end up feeling a whole lot better all around!

Source
Spine Magazine: 01 June 2013 – Volume 38 – Issue 13 – p 1154–1159