Chances are, you or someone you know has had back pain. Each year 15% of the population has their first episode of back pain, and over the course of our lives, 80% of us will have back pain. Even though back pain is common, the medical community does a poor job managing it. Stories of chronic pain, opioid use, multiple surgeries, and a lifetime of disability are far too common.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s look at some of the common treatments for low back pain and see how they stack up against physical therapy:<\/p>\n
Medication<\/strong><\/p>\n Low back pain is the #1 reason for opioid prescription in the US, however, in 2106, the CDC recommended against the use of opioids for back pain in favor of \u201cnon-drug treatments like physical therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n Imaging\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Having an X-ray or MRI for back pain is common, however, it\u2019s rarely needed or helpful. Research has NEVER demonstrated a link between imaging and symptoms. As we age, degenerative changes on imaging is common.<\/p>\n Surgery\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The US has sky-high rates for back surgeries – 40% higher than any other country and 5x higher than the UK. You\u2019d think that with all the back surgeries we do, we\u2019d be pretty good at it but the outcomes are terrible!<\/strong><\/p>\n A worker\u2019s comp study looked at 725 people who had spinal fusions VS. 725 people who didn\u2019t. The surgical group had:<\/p>\n Physical Therapy\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite the data showing that PT is the most effective, safest, and lowest cost option to treat low back pain, most people take far too long to get there. Almost every state has direct access, meaning that you can go directly to a physical therapist without a doctor\u2019s referral. If you see your doctor for back pain, and PT isn\u2019t one of the first treatment options, ask for it! #ChoosePT<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chances are, you or someone you know has had back pain. Each year 15% of the population has their first episode of back pain, and over the course of our lives, 80% of us will have back pain. Even though …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":4542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,31,36,63,67,95,98,113,131,135,136,160,181,182,4,2,254,257,268,269,270,271,276,278,294,375],"tags":[536,598,640,935,1359,1427,1591,1769,1954,2317,2425,2429,2437,2857,2933,3383,3558,3858,4033],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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