Questioning Medical Practices

An interesting article fell into my lap earlier this week, and I know that you’re thinking, “Ohhh! Research articles! I LOVE TO READ THOSE!”

And yes, while it may be boring and tedious, there is a part of me that enjoys seeing what the future of medicine is up to. So rather than bore you with the article itself and the statistics (I know, you are bummed), I will share with you what I gathered from this Journal of American Medicine Association (JAMA) article entitled “Update on medical practices that should be questioned in 2015“.

Medical overuse/overtreatment is something of which people accuse chiropractors. How many of you who have been to a chiropractor and were shocked to see an astronomical 24-36 visits for a minor, 2 out of 10 back strain that you have experienced before? Well, before you accuse me of throwing my own profession under the bus, it looks as if this is a common theme in the medical world. The article I read discussed medical overuse by reviewing 910 articles in 2014.

Out of 910 articles reviewed, 440 addressed overuse/overtreatment in the medical realm. While the article touches on many different conditions, treatments and resources that have been over utilized in 2014, I wanted to focus on one specific finding. Research showed that “There is no benefit to paracetamol or acetaminophen (NSAIDs) for acute low back pain.” The American Pain Society Low Back Pain Guidelines Panel gives 7 recommendations for the 5th most common reason for doctor visits: low back pain. By the way, spinal manipulation is the 7th recommendation (Mama, we made it!)

One of the other recommendations is Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs for short.

The results of a double blind randomized clinical trail for overtreatment with NSAIDs showed the following:

• A median of 17 days for paracetamol groups
• A median of 16 days for placebo groups
• Recommendations - There is no benefit for acute low back pain and reassurance with advice on likely resolution may be the primary treatment for acute low back pain.

It is interesting to see how treatments and diagnostic tools can be overused. With more awareness across the medical community, there should be improvement in patient outcomes and patient satisfaction. So this doesn’t mean multiple visits to a chiropractor is wrong, it is just hard to put the same label on very person that walks in the door. At the end of the day, having the evidence to move to a patient-centered approach for care is the future, and I look forward to being a part of it!

For more information about the study click here for a downloadable copy.

Chou, R., Qaseem, A., Snow, V., Casey, D., Cross Jr., T., Shekelle, P., & Owens, D.K. (2007). Diagnosis and treatment of low back pain: A joint clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Socity. Annals of Internal Medicine, 147(7).478-514. Retreived from http://web.southcarolinablues.com/UserFiles/scblue...

Morgan, D.J., Dhruva, S.S., Wright, S.M., & Korenstein, D. (2015). Update on medical practices that should be questioned in 2015. JAMA Internal Medicine. 1-5.

Doctor Eric Stumpff is a chiropractor in plantation fl near the 33324 zip code. If you ever feel something in this Chiropractic Article intrigued you in any way, or you may have issues with pain and wellness, give our office a call. Doctor Stumpff handles anything from Auto Accident Recovery to Sports Medicine and more.