The Evidence Based Chiropractor Blog

Hundreds of chiropractic marketing and research articles to help you grow.

Jeff Langmaid 7/29/14 Jeff Langmaid 7/29/14

Low Back Pain: Tylenol is No Better Than Placebo - by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

A new research study from the Lancet has shown Tylenol, or more specifically the active ingredient paracetamol, to provide no added relief when compared to placebo for acute low back pain. The study is a double-blinded, randomized-controlled trial, which is one of the highest classes of research.

For many people with acute low back pain; Tylenol is one of the first recommendations from their Primary Care Physician. This study finds that we should question the universal endorsement of paracetamol. Did you know that previous research studies have found chiropractic care to be one of the most safe and effective treatment options available for acute low back pain? Often, primary care providers unfortunately rely on the status quo, which is this case would be the prescription or recommendation of paracetamol for acute low back pain. However, evidence based guidelines indicate that chiropractic care may be a superior option.

-The Evidence Based Chiropractor is the fastest growing chiropractic marketing group in the profession. The service, founded and run by Dr. Jeff Langmaid, is dedicated to increasing chiropractic utilization by showcasing research. Marketing to medical doctors through research is proven, cost effective, and can dramatically improve your incoming referrals. Join us. Lets grow chiropractic together.

Jeff Langmaid 7/23/14 Jeff Langmaid 7/23/14

The Facts on Back Pain and Weather- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

New research from Australia has found that acute low back pain is not linked to weather conditions. They looked at temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind direction, and precipitation as factors which may lead to an increased likelihood of the onset of back pain.

Back pain currently affects up to 70 million American everyday, and many individuals point to the weather as a reason for why their back is "acting up". While cold, rainy weather may not inspire us to get moving and exercise, it appears as though it does not directly contribute to back pain!

Jeff Langmaid 7/22/14 Jeff Langmaid 7/22/14

8 Facts About Foraminal Height for Asymptomatic People- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

Laura Dydra at Becker Spine recently wrote a great article on trends in foraminal height for healthy people. As chiropractors, this information is very important because the foraminal height directly affects the exiting nerve roots. In my opinion some of the information uncovered should be used for further research regarding the adjustment of patients who are 'asymptomatic' but may have clinical signs indicated somatic dysfunction/subluxation.

Ms. Dydra wrote, "Researchers examined subject-based three-dimensional CT lumbar models for asymptomatic subjects to measure trends in foraminal height for the healthy spine and published their results in Spine.

The research included 59 volunteers. Here are eight findings from the study:

Overall foraminal height decreased with age
Foraminal height in males decreased at all levels with age
Foraminal height in females did not decrease at all levels
Foraminal height was significantly larger in the upper lumbar levels
Foraminal height was smaller in males than females
Foraminal width decreased with age in both sexes
Foraminal widths at the lower lumbar levels were smaller than those at the upper levels
Age-related foraminal width decreased at all lumbar levels"

Jeff Langmaid 7/15/14 Jeff Langmaid 7/15/14

Obesity and Your Back: How Being Overweight May Influence Your Spine by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

SPINE Journal recently released a study which examined the discs heights of people who fall within the traditional BMI brackets of "normal" weight and obese. There is no doubt that when we carry additional weight; it places undue stress on the structures of our musculoskeletal system. However, this is one of the first studies to correlate our weight to actual disc heights.

They found that disc heights of the lumbar spine were in fact reduced in the obese patients when compared to the disc heights of non-obese patients. Interestingly, this held true for segments L1-L5 but not at the lumbosacral junction of L5-S1.

Clinically, they found no particular correlation or causation between the diminished disc height loss and any recent episodes of pain. It is important to remember that consistent (over) load of our vertebral motion segments may very well result in an increase in degenerative changes as time continues to march on.

Jeff Langmaid 7/3/14 Jeff Langmaid 7/3/14

Epidural Steroid Injections Performed No Better than Lidocaine Injections- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

This large, multi center study published by the New England Journal of Medicine found that, for patients with lumbar stenosis, injections of lidocaine performed just as well as injections containing lidocaine and corticosteroids. The study was double-blinded and randomized.

“Compared to injections with local anesthetic alone, injections with glucocorticoids provided these patients with minimal or no additional benefit.” said the author of the study, Janna L. Friedly, MD.

This study may have important implications. Earlier this year we touched on a study which showed that ESI's have greatly increased the risk of lumbar vertebral fracture. Additionally, ESI's have a fairly high complication rate and their effectiveness is questionable at best when compared to other conservative care options.