‭Ribstein‬‭1‬

‭Chloe Ribstein‬

‭Mr. Rudebusch‬

‭Composition IV‬

‭20 December 2023‬

‭The Most Effective Treatment for Back Pain‬

‭Have you ever visited the Chiropractor? If you have, then you know that you feel pain‬

‭relief afterwards. If you have not, let me explain. When you go to the chiropractor, they will give‬

‭you an adjustment and have you come back the following week. As time goes by, you will start‬

‭to feel improvement. This is because chiropractors use adjustments to release pressure from the‬

‭joints and can reduce inflammation. Some people may say that there are many different types of‬

‭medical treatment for back pain that are more effective than Chiropractic care, such as back‬

‭surgery, muscle relaxants,physical therapy, and steroids. That is where they are wrong. Although‬

‭there are many benefits to these types of treatments, chiropractic care stands out. Chiropractic‬

‭care is the most effective treatment for chronic back pain.‬

‭Although back surgery is an effective treatment for chronic back pain, Chiropractic care‬

‭is a cheaper and more effective alternative due to the chance of failed surgeries. Surgery can cost‬

‭from $50,000 to sometimes over $100,000. It can also fail and not fully treat the pain. Yes, the‬

‭surgery can help, but not everyone has thousands of dollars to throw away on back surgery.‬

‭When you get back surgery, surgeons can find the root of the problem and fix the issues.‬

‭However, surgery doesn’t always work out. According to Zafeer Baber and Michael A Erdekt,‬

‭specialists in anesthesiology, “sometimes surgery fails to provide relief or provides only‬

‭temporary relief of the patient’s pain.” Surgery is not always 100%. With surgery you may not‬
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‭get the results you wanted. Next thing you know you may have just wasted thousands of dollars‬

‭on a surgery that could have been helped with Chiropractic care. Although this can be a good‬

‭solution, many people prefer chiropractic care because of the outcome. Chiropractors can adjust‬

‭you to help relieve the pain for a very small fraction of the price of surgery. Yet some people may‬

‭challenge my view by insisting that no one wants to have to go to the chiropractor every week‬

‭because of their back pain. While it is true that you may need to go to the Chiropractor every‬

‭week, it does not necessarily follow that you have to go there the rest of your life. Those who see‬

‭the chiropractor, often see improvement as they start their adjustments. After a couple of months‬

‭going to the chiropractor you will not have to keep going every month. Trent Scheidecker,‬

‭Chiropractor majored in biology, was asked if you will always have to go back to the‬

‭Chiropractor and his response was “only if want to choose a consistent lifestyle that can reduce‬

‭stress and increase your ability to adapt to more stress for a higher state of well-being.” This‬

‭shows that those who go to the Chiropractor will not need to go for the rest of their life, but may‬

‭need something to replace it. If you were to stop going to the Chiropractor, you should find‬

‭something else that can help you relieve the pain. Exercise would be a great way to replace‬

‭Chiropractic care because it allows you to move your body around. As long as you choose‬

‭something to help keep you from feeling pain, you should not have to go back.‬

‭Because Chiropractic care moves you around during adjustments, it is more effective than‬

‭muscle relaxants. Muscle relaxants are used to help decrease the lower back pain from muscle‬

‭spasms and are usually used for short term. There are always side effects to prescription‬

‭medication. Muscle relaxes can make you sleepy, dry mouth, and dependency. However,‬

‭chiropractic care can help realign your spine with adjustments and can last until you’re pain free.‬

‭According to Mayo Clinic, “the Chiropractor uses his or her hands to apply a controlled, sudden‬
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‭force to a joint, pushing it beyond its usual range of motion”(Mayo Clinic Staff). When‬

‭chiropractors do adjustments on patients, they will use force to move their body. With these‬

‭movements they are allowing your body to move unlike muscle relaxants. When an individual‬

‭uses muscle relaxants they just take them and think they will be fine. What they don’t know is‬

‭that if you were to just be taking muscle relaxants, you may not see much improvement because‬

‭you would just be resting and not moving around. The muscle relaxants do not make you get up‬

‭and move around. Everyone must move around or your body will get stiff and you won’t see‬

‭much improvement with medical treatment. Although you can always use muscle relaxants, you‬

‭should also include chiropractic care, or a type of exercise, in your rehabilitation. This is because‬

‭Chiropractic care can help your mobility. However, if you were to combine both muscle‬

‭relaxation and Chiropractic care you could see lots of improvement. Of course, many will‬

‭probably disagree and say that muscle relaxants can help relieve pain faster than chiropractic‬

‭care can. Although this may be true, Chiropractic care allows you to move your body and relieve‬

‭pain. Yes, it may take a couple adjustments for you to see improvements, but muscle relaxants do‬

‭not improve anything. They simply just numb the pain for a certain amount of time while‬

‭chiropractic care improves over time. Dr. Amanda B. Austin, doctorate in Chiropractic, found in‬

‭a study, conducted at Life University in Georgia that states that over time Chiropractic care‬

‭“facilitates healing, increases flexibility, and improves mobility.” Chiropractic care has many‬

‭different types of ways that improve different body movements after time. These different ways‬

‭can help decrease pain and move better than before. Those who choose Chiropractic care will see‬

‭major improvements. Furthermore, Chiropractic care can help relieve pain in a better and safer‬

‭way than muscle relaxants.‬

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‭Physical therapy may be an effective treatment for chronic back pain, but chiropractic‬

‭care is faster and more effective. Chiropractic care and physical therapy are very similar but they‬

‭share their differences. Physical therapy can slowly help those who have suffered an injury and‬

‭need help to manage pain and improve movement. However, they can only help by giving‬

‭exercises that will slowly improve your mobility and strengthen you to help relieve pain. On the‬

‭other hand, Chiropractic care can help manage your pain and regain strength faster than physical‬

‭therapy. Brett Sears, a physical therapist with a masters degree in physical therapy and a major in‬

‭exercise physiology, states that “your chiropractor can quickly assess your condition and provide‬

‭a spinal adjustment that may quickly relieve your pain and improve your mobility.” His point is‬

‭that chiropractic care can help relieve pain with one fix. When Chiropractors use their‬

‭adjustments, they can use spinal manipulation which applies force to the joint that relieves pain.‬

‭After just a few adjustments you could be feeling brand new.Therefore, Chiropractic care is‬

‭faster and more efficient treatment. Although, depending on the injury you might want to go to a‬

‭physical therapist. Sears states that “if you have had an injury or surgery and are experiencing a‬

‭loss of functional mobility, then working with a physical therapist is a good idea.” Sears points‬

‭out that physical therapy might be a better option if you are coming back from a severe injury,‬

‭such as back surgery. This is because physical therapy is used to help those coming back from an‬

‭injury. Chiropractors should be seen before you have a surgery to help with the pain. Therefore,‬

‭considering the circumstances, you should see A Chiropractor for back pain that was not caused‬

‭by a previous surgery.‬

‭Chiropractic care is more effective than steroids because not everyone can take them. The‬

‭steroids that most doctors use to help treat back pain are corticosteroids. Corticosteroids‬

‭injections, also called Cortisone injections, are used to help reduce the inflammation. However,‬
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‭corticosteroids only last for a few weeks while chiropractic care can help with a few adjustments.‬

‭Melissa Vyvey, part of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa, states‬

‭that “‬‭corticosteroids reduce pain by reducing inflammation.”‬‭The individuals that use the steroid‬

‭injection do not necessarily act as a pain reliever. The only reason you would feel relief is‬

‭because the inflammation is decreasing. You must add some type of exercise to help with the‬

‭pain. Many people may argue that corticosteroids work very well for them if they keep going in‬

‭for the shot. Although this may be true, you could always add chiropractic care into your‬

‭rehabilitation. According to Dr. AJ Geisheker, Doctorate in Chiropractic Medicine that focuses‬

‭on Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine‬‭,‬‭“if you do decide to give steroid injections a try in an‬

‭attempt to manage your pain, you should at least consider combining it with Chiropractic care.”‬

‭When an individual decides to take steroids the best option is to combine a different type of‬

‭medical treatment, such as Chiropractic care, to your rehabilitation. With a combination of‬

‭steroids and Chiropractic care, you may see improvement with your pain. So even if patients‬

‭only use the corticosteroids injections, they will only get rid of the inflammation while‬

‭Chiropractic care can help reduce the pain and increase your strength and mobility.‬

‭Ultimately, Chiropractic care is the most effective medical treatment used for chronic‬

‭back pain. When individuals use Chiropractic care, they may see improvement within weeks.‬

‭Chiropractic care has many benefits that other treatments don’t have. However, when a patient‬

‭combines different types of medical treatments together, such as Chiropractic care and Physical‬

‭Therapy, they may see a little more improvement. So, when someone who has back pain and has‬

‭chosen to take a different approach, that isn’t Chiropractic care, I would recommend them to‬

‭combine their treatment with Chiropractic care. This is because combining different types of‬

‭medical treatments may work better than one. Although combining treatments would show more‬
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‭improvement, some may not have the money for multiple treatments. If someone were to only‬

‭choose one treatment, I would refer them to a Chiropractor. Chiropractic care works best alone.‬

‭Therefore, Chiropractic care is the most effective.‬

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‭Work Cited‬

‭Baber, Zafeer, and Michael A Erdek. “Failed back surgery syndrome: current perspectives.”‬

‭Journal of pain research,‬‭vol. 9 979-987. 7 Nov. 2016,‬‭https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/‬

‭pmc/articles/PMC5106227/‬‭. Accessed 14 December 2023.‬

‭Scheidecker, Trent. “Once you go to the Chiropractor, do you have to keep going?”‬‭ChiroWay‬

‭Chiropractic‬‭, 2012-2023,‬‭https://chiroway.com/once-you-go-to-the-chiropractor-do-you‬

‭-have-to- keep-going/‬‭. Accessed 19 December 2023.‬

‭Mayo Clinic Staff. “Chiropractic Adjustments.”‬‭Mayo‬‭Clinic‬‭, 30 Sept. 2022,‬‭https://www.‬

‭mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/chiropractic- adjustment/about/pac-20393513‬‭.‬‭Accessed‬

‭20 December 2023.‬

‭Austin, Amanda. “Why Chiropractic Adjustments Are Better Than Muscle Relaxants.”‬‭Tri-State‬

‭Clinic North,‬‭19 Oct. 2016,‬‭https://tristateclinic.com/2016/10/19/why-chiropractic-‬

‭adjustments-are-better-than-muscle-relaxants/‬‭. Accessed‬‭18 December 2023.‬

‭Sears, Brett. “Chiropractors vs. Physical Therapists: Differences and How to Choose.”‬‭Very‬

‭Well Health‬‭, 23 April 2023,‬‭https://www.verywellhealth.com/chiropractor-vs-physical‬

‭-therapy-5194093‬‭. Accessed 13 December 2023.‬

‭Vyvey, Melissa. “Steroids as pain relief adjuvants.”‬‭Canadian family physician Medecin de‬

‭Famille canadien,‬‭vol. 56, no.12, 2010,‬‭https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles‬

‭/PMC3001922/‬‭. Accessed 20 December 2023.‬

‭Geisheker, AJ. “Steroids VS Chiropractic Care.”‬‭Chicago‬‭Chiropractic,‬‭7 Dec. 2018,‬

‭https://www.chicago-chiropractic.com/blog/2018/12/steroids-vs-chiropractic-care/‬‭.‬

‭Accessed 14 December 2023.‬