In our Redondo Beach practice, we see a lot of people who are struggling with back pain, and a few of these patients have been informed they might need surgery to recover. Fortunately, Dr. Vinick has helped many people get pain relief without the need for any type of surgery. The science confirms the success we see in our practice. One medical study published in the academic journal Spine found that seeing a chiropractor as your first step in overcoming with your back problems may literally keep you out of the operating room.
In this report, medical professionals from Dartmouth analyzed data from 1,885 workers from Washington state who first saw either an orthopedic surgeon or a chiropractor for their low back issues. They then looked at three years' worth of follow-up medical records to determine whether the individuals wound up having back surgery in an attempt to treat the problem.
What the authors determined was that 42.7% of the people who first consulted with a surgeon for their back pain ended up having a surgical procedure in that 3-year time frame, whereas only 1.5 percent of those who first saw a chiropractor had the same fate. The authors wrote:
"Even after controlling for injury severity and other measures, workers with an initial visit for the injury to a surgeon had almost nine times the odds of receiving lumbar spine surgery compared to those seeing primary care providers, whereas workers whose first visit was to a chiropractor had significantly lower odds of surgery."
These are remarkable outcomes. Consulting with a chiropractor considerably decreases your odds of getting back surgery, plus the chiropractic patients in this study "had lower odds of chronic work disability" and they also had fewer expensive MRI tests.
Let's also take into account this important detail: this study was carried out by orthopedic surgeons from Dartmouth College, and published in the world's most influential medical publication on spinal injuries.
Why You Should Avoid Surgery
Any surgical procedure has risks, but a serious problem related to spine surgery is that there's a very high failure rate. In an important review in the European Spine Journal, researchers wrote:
"Failed back surgery is a problem that has become sufficiently widespread to even warrant its own special conferences, with recent reviews reporting failure rates ranging from 5 to 50%."
The authors of this same study concluded:
"It is extremely difficult to identify unequivocal predictor factors that can be used to accurately predict the outcome of surgery."
As a chiropractor, Dr. Vinick is convinced that surgery should be the absolute last choice for treating back pain. Chiropractic works to restore your spine to its normal function--without risky surgery or drugs--and many research studies have confirmed the usefulness of chiropractic for back pain.
If you live in Redondo Beach and you need relief for your back pain, give our practice a call today at (310) 375-4325 for a consultation or an appointment. We'll help get you back on the road to a pain-free life!
Studies
Dr. Mark L. Vinick is both a Chiropractor and Holistic Doctor (Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist) in private practice in Redondo Beach, CA. He has successfully treated a wide variety of conditions based on his extensive knowledge of both modern and ancient healing sciences.
