One of the most prevalent health maladies is low back pain (LBP). The widespread nature of the condition is verified by global evidence from the World Health Organization (WHO). Although LBP is pervasive, chiropractic care can stop it in its tracks.

#1 in years lived with disability (YLD)

In order to better understand the true impact of diseases in countries across the planet, the World Health Organization (WHO) created a system called the global burden of disease (GBD). Two primary metrics of the project are the disability-adjusted-life-year (DALY) and the years lived with disability (YLD).

Describing DALY, WHO notes, “This time-based measure combines years of life lost due to premature mortality and years of life lost due to time lived in states of less than full health.” In other words, it’s a way to track the conditions most responsible for long-term suffering and death.

The 2010 Global Burden of Disease revealed how incredibly common and detrimental lower back pain is among worldwide diseases. According to the UK’s Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, LBP had the #1 YLD rating and #6 DALY rating out of 291 conditions assessed.

The hit on the United States economy is approximately $100 billion annually, according to Michael Melton of ChiroNexus. What’s more, he says, that spending is unfairly distributed even among LBP patients: 10% of them account for 80% of the expense, say researchers.

Stopping LBP with chiropractic

A study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics in 2004 demonstrates why so many people are now turning to chiropractors for LBP prevention and treatment.

The research team recruited 30 participants, LBP patients who had been suffering from the condition for a minimum of six months. The scientists wanted to see how effective chiropractic care would be in helping the patients to recover.

All of the participants were given no treatment for one month. Then they were divided into two groups. The first group received 12 spinal adjustments within 30 days, followed by a total absence of chiropractic for the remainder of the 11-month study. The second group started out exactly the same for the first month of treatments, with 12 appointments apiece. Throughout the remaining nine months of the study, though, they received follow-up treatments every three weeks.

Pain vs. disability results

When the two groups were examined at the 11-month mark, the researchers found:

·      Pain was lower than it had been among both groups.

·      On the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), though, the second group had much better scores. Meanwhile, without any follow-ups, the first group reported the same degree of disability they had experienced prior to the study.

A lower back pain solution

No one wants to have to live with chronic LBP. As this study demonstrates, chiropractic offers effective long-lasting pain relief and freedom from disability. Get help now!