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La Grande Chiropractic Care Instead of an Emergency Room Visit and Pain Meds for Back Pain

Emergency room physicians are trying to figure out what is optimal to offer back pain patients who come to the ER for help. It is a dilemma for them, particularly since almost 3 million such patients with undifferentiated musculoskeletal low back pain choose the emergency room for help each year! (1) Unless there is cauda equina syndrome demanding surgery or an infection, pain is the issue. How best can a La Grande ER doc help? How can an ER doctor provide higher value care? (2) Imaging and medication. What can the La Grande chiropractic back pain specialist provide? Spinal manipulation and nutrients. Chiropractic has published about successfully managing back pain.

EMERGENCY ROOM: IMAGING

The ER orders lots of imaging. One in 3 patients who visit the emergency department for back pain (as opposed to 1 in 4 who visit a primary care physician) has imaging done: simple imaging 26%, complex imaging 8.2%. (3) Today’s imaging recommendations don’t support this as they recommend holding off on imaging for 4-6 weeks of conservative care before imaging. (4) Maybe patients are letting the ER doctors know that they have been using such care already? Probably not as only 34% of patients who go to an ER tell the emergency department physician that they use healthcare options like chiropractors, massage therapy, acupuncture and the like. (5) What about the pain?

EMERGENCY ROOM: MEDICATIONS

Relief for the pain is what they focus on. Researchers have looked at all sorts of pain medication combinations ER doctors have prescribed to see what works best. What have they discovered? Stronger pain medication options don’t offer much of a difference. Adding baclofen, metaxalone, or tizanidine to ibuprofen does not appear to up function or pain any more than placebo plus ibuprofen within a week after an ED visit for acute low back pain. (6,7) Combining ibuprofen and acetaminophen did not decrease pain scores or the need for other analgesic pain meds compared with either ibuprofen or acetaminophen alone in emergency room patients with acute musculoskeletal injuries. (8) As a matter of fact, 48% of back pain patients who visit an emergency room for their back pain still had functional impairment 3 months later as well as 42% reported moderate or severe pain. 46% say they’ve used some type of analgesic pain reliever in the day prior. There are short and long-term problems for ER patients with low back pain. (1) This may all be frustrating for ER docs and their patients but not always for chiropractors and their chiropractic back pain patients. The La Grande chiropractic back pain specialist at Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC is armed with the best of chiropractic care for La Grande back pain relief.

CHIROPRACTIC: MANIPULATION AND NUTRIENTS

Your La Grande chiropractor gets it. Experience with chiropractic spinal manipulation via The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management with the addition of nutrition like chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine sulfate and curcurmin and turmeric supports your La Grande chiropractor’s confidence that back pain relief and management for many otherwise frustrated La Grande back pain patients is possible.

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Michael Schneider on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson who shares the role of the primary spine physician who would be the physician to seek out for back pain issues.

CONTACT Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC

Schedule a La Grande chiropractic visit with Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC especially if an emergency department trip hasn’t resulted in the pain relief you hoped. La Grande chiropractic care has shared a well-documented and researched way to manage back pain.

	Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC invites La Grande back pain patients to the clinic instead of the emergency room for pain meds whenever possible. 
 
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"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by Dr. James M. Cox I."