Over 31 million Americans experience back pain at any given time, and low back pain is the number-one cause of disability worldwide. The United States alone spends over $50 million a year for back-pain-related issues. It is estimated that 85% of individuals will suffer with low back pain at some point in their lives. In fact, low back pain is the second leading cause of doctor’s visits, behind only upper respiratory problems.
Acupuncture has been successful in resolving back pain when other modalities have failed. We have a unique method for resolving stubborn back pain for Tampa Bay. To give an example, one of the largest studies ever done involving acupuncture recruited over 1100 patients. One group received acupuncture and the other received standard care involving medications and PT. The group receiving acupuncture had greater improvement in pain and over a third had complete resolution of their pain after only 10 sessions, even 6 months after treatment had ended.
A new research study actually reveals that back surgery fails in 74% of cases. Researchers reviewed records from 1,450 patients in the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation database who had diagnoses of disc degeneration, disc herniation, or radiculopathy, a nerve condition that causes tingling and weakness of the limbs. Half of the patients had surgery to fuse two or more vertebrae in hopes of curing low back pain. The other half had no surgery, even though they had comparable diagnoses. After two years, just 26% of those who had surgery had actually returned to work, compared to 67% of patients who didn’t have surgery. In what might be the most troubling finding, researchers determined that there was a 41% increase in the use of painkillers, specifically opiates, in those who had surgery.
If surgery can be avoided that is always best. We treat patients who have had surgery at some of Tampa’s finest surgery centers but if surgery does not resolve their pain they are simply handed medication and sent on their way, or worse, offered more surgery. That is why alternative modalities like the unique approach we have created for Tampa Bay acupuncture patients is superior to resolving pain related problems of all kinds.
Any type of back pain is a warning sign of internal body issues that need to be corrected. Addressing the root cause via our unique method of holistic medicine is the only way to resolve chronic and acute back pain without lasting side effects or creating a greater problem. Call us to find out how we have been resolving chronic back pain for Tampa Bay patients with great success.