New Evidence Shows that Herniated Spinal Discs May Not Be the Cause for Low Back Pain

The New England Journal of Medicine, the biblical periodical of the medical world, shook the foundation of the medical monopoly itself with two reports: one that confirmed that

Americans made More office visits to "alternative" practitioners; 300,000 more, than to MDs

and a second article which stunned surgeons when orthopedic MRI studies revealed that

ruptured discs may not be the cause of back pain - the long-held belief that has led to an epidemic of failed back surgeries.

The commonly held belief that if a patient has back pain and a MRI shows a herniated or protruced disc that the cause of the pain had been found. A recent study of people without a history of low back pain were found to have positive findings of herniated or protruded disc when a MRI was performed. It is now more commonly believed that the reason for so many "successful back surgeries" that did not relieve the back pain as intended are a result of the disc not being the cause of the pain in the first place. The recent AHCPR report stated that only one in one hundred back surgeries was necessary for acute low back pain. In 1990, the British Research Council released an in-depth 10-year analysis of back pain, and concluded that chiropractic was twice as good clinically as medicine in this area. The prestigious RAND Corporation in 1991 completed a two-year literature review of low back pain management, and agreed that spinal manipulation was effective for many back problems.

Some of the key facts about low back problems brought out in the AHCPR study are:

	At some point in their lives, up to 80 percent of all Americans will experience low back problems. (Frymoyer, NW, N Engl J Med, 1988)
	Next to the common cold, low back symptoms are the most common reason for visits to primary care physicians. (Cypress, Amer J Pub Health, 1983).
	The direct annual healthcare cost for low back problems in the United States are estimated to be at least as high as $20 billion. Indirect costs, such as disability payments and lost work time, could significantly increase the overall cost. (Webster and Snook, J Occup Med, 1990).

Doctors of Chiropractic worldwide are ready and willing to work in concert with other health professionals to provide the best possible care for patients with low back pain. After all, the wellbeing of the patient is our most important concern. And with spinal manipulation offering the most effective drug-free, non-surgical relief for adult low back pain, the experts in spinal manipulation - doctors of chiropractic - should be looked to for treatment.