Moriarty Chiropractic Explains the Value of Chiropractic Research

Research makes the healthcare world go ‘round! Research solidifies the role of healthcare’s relief of pain. For chiropractic healthcare, much research entails providing evidence of chiropractic’s benefit for painful musculoskeletal conditions like back pain, neck pain, arm pain and sciatic leg pain. Moriarty Chiropractic offers just such research-documented, effective care to our Nashua chiropractic patients.

CHALLENGE: DO HIGH QUALITY RESEARCH

One set of back pain researchers challenged fellow researchers to come up with long-term plans to reduce the problem of low back pain on patients and healthcare systems. They clarified that developing effective strategies continues to be a daunting job for back pain clinicians, doctors, and researchers. Vexingly, back pain disability levels have not improved despite an increased quantity of published research reports regarding back pain care. No consensus on the best way to manage low back pain has been achieved. Non-drug and non-invasive approaches like exercise, manual therapy, massage, and such are typical recommendations. Another group of reviewing researchers indicated a few issues with back pain research: design and analysis within the treatment clinical trials. (1) Designing research studies is difficult. Coming up with a “sham” protocol for spinal manipulation that seems like spinal manipulation is really challenging. (Just touching a spine can be relieving some, but that’s a topic for another article!) Observational studies are the next best thing. How so? Researchers observe how patients respond when they experience treatment and note changes and effects. Fortuitously, Cox® Technic research has a mix of biomechanical and clinical observational studies resulting in case reports, case series, plus retrospective and prospective clinical studies. Moriarty Chiropractic feels this mix of research support helps explain to our Nashua chiropractic patients what clinical outcome relief they may anticipate.

MINIMAL CLINICAL IMPORTANCE

Occasionally, chiropractic physicians and low back pain patients alike are frustrated with the outcomes of treatment for back pain. They shouldn’t be! In medicine, the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) is reported 30% or 20% and even 10% improvement. That is reported as an “effective” outcome. Cox® Technic has proposed 50% improvement in 30 days as the goal…and still does. Often, chiropractic patients realize that 50% relief in less than 30 days and that the 50% relief is closer to 70% or 80% or 90%! Sometimes, a patient’s response may be slower in reaching relief or only reaches 30% or 40%. Some patients want more while others, particularly patients who have already gone through back surgery or sought non-relieving care from many other providers, are thrilled. A study of 1232 low back pain subjects discovered a MCID pain intensity of 2 (meaning a 2 point change on a scale of 0 no pain to 10 worst imaginable pain). That’s not a big move but is realistic. (2) It’s a statistic to consider. Weighed against medical and surgical outcomes for back pain treatment that are as low as 10% or 30% expected improvement MCID, our Nashua chiropractic clinical outcome objectives are high and frequently achievable.

THE CHALLENGE OF CHIROPRACTIC RESEARCH – AND HOW CHIROPRACTIC ANSWERS

Chiropractic, like other complementary and integrative healthcare professions, experiences a little more effort in maintaining a flow of research as many programs are not incorporated into large university settings with well-established and well-funded research departments. Global chiropractic researchers are looking for a solution.  Australia, Canada, and Denmark chiropractic researchers have created a leadership academy (CARL – Chiropractic Academy for Research Leadership) for early-career chiropractic researchers to stimulate more chiropractic research. US-based researchers are looking to the RAND Corporation’s Center for Collaborative CIH Research to combine research talent and resources to advance chiropractic’s quality and quantity of research.  (3,4) Solid research continues at chiropractic universities to document the benefits of chiropractic for musculoskeletal-related pain like back pain, neck pain, arm pain and leg pain.

CONTACT Moriarty Chiropractic

Listen to this PODCAST with Ram Gudavalli, PhD, principal investigator of many Cox® Technic research studies, on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates research studies of which he’s been a part.

Schedule your next Nashua chiropractic appointment today. Bring your questions about the research supporting our chiropractic care with you! Moriarty Chiropractic loves to share research!