The Price of Pain

Chiropractic care is a major alternative approach to drugs and surgery for back pain, in addition to many other conditions leading to pain in the body. Today's chiropractors are well-trained as primary healthcare providers and provide a different perspective to understanding common ailments.

The solution to the majority of the lower back pain problems is a nutritional protocol that i have developed. Relief can be experienced in as little as one minute. I have used this protocol on hundreds of people. The primary causes of lower back pain are stress and poor nutrition.

Terrible article. Full of vague generalizations. No real information that a back pain sufferer could use as guidance. Just because Dr. Deyo was lucky enough to get by with a dose of ibuprofen is no reason to dismiss other treatments. What does he recommend for people with chronic pain and loss of function? What about the effects of long term use of over the counter medications like ibuprofen?

acupuncture is dangerous sometimes...

wasn't as productive so I finally ran out of excuses to tell my boss for not trying acupuncture. To make a long story short, I was pain-free after four or five visits (five weeks). My biggest excuse had been the cost- about $80/visit in NC. However, after the first week I started feeling better so the cost didn't seem much then.
I'd like to add that stretching is what *keeps* me pain-free now. You don't have to do yoga; just a few minutes of stretching each day is enough. There's good book called 'relief is in the stretch' or something like that. Good luck.

This is for all of you back pain sufferers who are tired of drugs and 'treatments' that don't work: go see an acupuncturist. If possible, seek one who did *not* receive all of his/her training in the US-- Chinese are the best in my experience.
I started having back pain after a car accident a few years ago and followed the usual route: MDs, NSAIDs, physical therapy, TENS, etc. When my boss first told me to try acupuncture I said I would but of course I didn't because like most of you I thought it wouldn't work. Four months after my accident I was still in pain (well, not in much pain because my MD was nice enough to prescribe opioids). Either way, it was obvious that I wasn't as productive so I finally ran out of excuses to tell my boss for not trying acupuncture. To make a long story short, I was pain-free after four or five visits (five weeks). My biggest excuse had been the cost- about $80/visit in NC. However, after the first week I started feeling better so the cost didn't seem much then.
I'd like to add that stretching is what *keeps* me pain-free now. You don't have to do yoga; just a few minutes of stretching each day is enough. There's good book called 'relief is in the stretch' or something like that. Good luck.

Surgical Treatments have a one in four success rate by most published studies. This report Fails to mention chiropractic care which has been shown to have a 89 percent success rate and 96 percent satisfaction rate. for more information. www.villagefamilychiro.com

Having recent back surgery, I found that this article to be somewhat insulting. In 2005, my neurosurgeon was very upfront with his assessment of my condition, and the treatment. He gave two options. The first being conservative therapy, injections and prescriptions. He also stated that you could not fix a massively herniated disk and spinal stenosis with Physical therapy, exercises anything else. Option 2 was surgery but only after option, one was exhausted and I could not stand the pain. Two years later, I had reached the end of my tolerance of pain. After another MRI to confirm that things had things had changed I scheduled surgery. I now wonder why I waited. It was a decision that changed my life for the better. I understand that surgery is not the answer for all low back pain but when it works, it is a miracle. It is my hope that people who read this make an informed decision with their Doctor, not based on the hype of this study and article. The honesty of what will work and will not help back pain is also vitally important. Over treatment of low back pain could stem from either lack understanding of the diagnosis and or a possible unrealistic expectation instant pain relief. If all Doctors and patients have a relationship to speak openly, honestly and at times bluntly, costs to treat low back pain may drop.

Having recent back surgery, I found that this article to be somewhat insulting. In 2005, my neurosurgeon was very upfront with his assessment of my condition, and the treatment. He gave two options. The first being conservative therapy, injections and prescriptions. He also stated that you could not fix a massively herniated disk and spinal stenosis with Physical therapy, exercises anything else. Option 2 was surgery but only after option, one was exhausted and I could not stand the pain. Two years later, I had reached the end of my tolerance of pain. After another MRI to confirm that things had things had changed I scheduled surgery. I now wonder why I waited. It was a decision that changed my life for the better. I understand that surgery is not the answer for all low back pain but when it works, it is a miracle. It is my hope that people who read this make an informed decision with their Doctor, not based on the hype of this study and article. The honesty of what will work and will not help back pain is also vitally important. Over treatment of low back pain could stem from either lack understanding of the diagnosis and or a possible unrealistic expectation instant pain relief. If all Doctors and patients have a relationship to speak openly, honestly and at times bluntly, costs to treat low back pain may drop.

Massage therapy by licensed professional therapists has been proven beneficial for back pain. As has chiropractic. Why didn't the article mention these complementary practices?

Massage therapy provides excellent results for back pain. Why didn't the article mention that?
LMP in Washington

To Oceanbrisa: (See my previous post). I couldn't agree more with you in terms of people taking better care of themselves when they are younger. Brutalize your body when you are young, and mostly likely you are going to pay for it later. However, no one can tell us that when we are young.

To McFar73: Many times, well conditioned, non-obese, non-smoking careful people have back pain that eludes a precise diagnosis. Obesity, smoking, etc., are just risk factors.

As far as the conspiracy theory goes, (See my post), there is no question that companies want to make as much money off of anything as they can. However, I assure you that there are a lot of very smart people working on this problem, and there are no "secret cures" that are being hidden. Back Pain is a very elusive problem. I give you a quote from Alf Nachemsen, MD, PhD, one of the "Gods" of back pain, shortly before he died, "One of the main goals of my career has been to determine the cause of nonspecific back pain. And in this I have failed. I didn't know the origin of back pain [early in my career], and I don't know now.??? Note that he said "nonspecific back pain", not well known causes of back pain. There are many times when we actually can tell people exactly what their problem is, just not always. At this point, your back pain may well be non-specific.

I am not over weight or a drinker, but I am a sufferer of back pain and have had surgery twice. I agree that surgery is an expensive way to go, and the it may the road choosen in hopes of the instant gratification that today's society is used to.
When my back flared up for probably the 4th time in 15 years I once again sought medical help, not just relying on time. I may be the rare guess(?) but surgery was necesssary as bones fragments from a disc had caused drop foot and unbelievable pain.
I truly think the answer is in educating young people about the body. In high school I was a gymnast & cheerleader. I wonder had I known how much I suffer today would I have respected my body more. I am a female, 51 living on disability. I have tried pilates, yoga and keep in shape via water exercise.
Point: Surgery is sometimes a must - time cannot cure all. Education!!! and not just about backs, but about knees also.