Spinal Manipulation Can Ease Your Aching Back

Consumer Reports gives information on the new study from the Journal of AMA which reviewed 26 previous studies and concluded that spinal manipulation (adjustments) is beneficial for back pain. 
Also a recent Consumer Reports survey of 3500 back pain sufferers showed that over 90% of them thought that spinal manipulation was beneficial for them.
Newer research is showing that pain medications are not nearly as beneficial as previously thought for back pain and carry more significant side effects.
Does it seem reasonable to try spinal manipulation as it is safer than drugs?

Spinal Manipulation Can Ease Your Aching Back

JAMA Study Provides Further Support for Spinal Manipulation for Acute Low Back Pain

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) adds to a growing body of recent research supporting the use of spinal manipulative therapy (adjustment) as a first line treatment for acute low back pain, 
The review examined 26 randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews and other published research since 2011 found that spinal manipulation was associated with statistically significant improvements in pain and function for up to six weeks with no serious adverse side effects.

JAMA Study Provides Further Support for Spinal Manipulation for Acute Low Back Pain

Stop Back Pain Without Drugs

A recent Consumer Reports survey shows 84% of people feel that spinal manipulation (adjustments) were beneficial. This article also explains the new back treatment Guidelines by the Am College of Physicians (national organization for the Internal Medicine Physicians). These new research based guidelines recommend NON-drug treatment such as spinal manipulation, tai chi, yoga, spine stabilizing exercises, progressive relaxation, stress reduction, and cognitive behavioral therapy as the first step for back pain.

Stop Back Pain Without Drugs

"Tech Neck": The Fix Is in the Foundation

"Tech neck" is also called "text neck". Did you know that the head weights 10-12 pounds and every 10 degrees of forward flexion puts another 10 pounds of stress on the neck? So 60 degrees of flexion increases neck stress by 60 pounds?
Here is a good article on the topic.

"Tech Neck": The Fix Is in the Foundation

The Puzzling Popularity of Back Surgery in Certain Regions

You might think that once drugs, devices and medical procedures are shown to be effective, they quickly become available. You might also think that those shown not to work as well as alternatives are immediately discarded.
Reasonable assumptions both, but you’d be wrong.
Another study has shown wide variations of up to 4 times in the rates of spinal surgery across the US. and it has not changed over time. There is no reason for this wide variation. 
 Unfortunately this shows that the decision to do spinal surgery is many times not based on science and many people are getting unnecessary spinal surgeries.

The Puzzling Popularity of Back Surgery in Certain Regions

A Public-Health Crisis That We Can Fix

Motor vehicle crashes kill as many people as breast cancer and twice as many people as murder, and injure more than 2 million people every year. I treat many patients for auto related injuries. 
After decreasing for several decades from 50,000 to the low 30,000's per year, the auto death rate has increased significantly by 14% over the last two years back up to 40,000. Most authorities agree this is due to distracted driving. 
I have posted on this topic several times over the last couple years.

A Public-Health Crisis That We Can Fix

Peter Gotzsche, founder of the Cochrane Collaboration, talks about dangers of prescription drugs

Many of our most commonly used drugs, from painkillers to antidepressants, are dangerous and are killing us off in large numbers, says a leading researcher. Peter Gotzsche, a co-founder of the Cochrane Collaboration, the world's foremost body in assessing medical evidence estimates that 100,000 people in the United States alone die each year from the side-effects of correctly used drugs.
He goes on to say "It's remarkable that nobody raises an eyebrow when we kill so many of our own citizens with drugs." Professor Gotzsche says those deaths are only the tip of the iceberg and are representative of a system of drug regulation that simply does not protect patients.
Why are we allowing 2000 per week to die from these FDA approved drugs?

Peter Gotzsche, founder of the Cochrane Collaboration, visits Australia to talk about dangers of prescription drugs