You probably know someone who has received a recommendation from their medical doctor to sign on for a spinal injection to treat their neck or back pain. Maybe you’ve been down this road yourself! What you may not know is that recent research indicates patients should think twice before scheduling that next shot. Not only have spinal injections been shown to increase the risk of experiencing a spinal fracture afterwards by 21%, but also that they do not provide as much pain relief as Chiropractic adjustments. That’s right - researchers have found that Chiropractic care can offer more significant relief than riskier treatments like spinal injections.
Using Medication Off-Label and Why You Should Care
Think of the most recent pharmaceutical commercial you watched. Do you remember that list of possible side effects and complications you heard - everything from diarrhea to death? Believe it or not, any of those crazy side effects and complications are to be expected when a medication is prescribed “on-label,” or for a particular condition as approved by the FDA. Of course, medications can also be prescribed by your doctor for any number of conditions that are not specifically on that FDA approved list. In other words, medication can be prescribed “off-label,” and it probably wouldn’t surprise you to know that using any medication “off-label” can increase your risk of experiencing even more side effects outside of those crazy commercial lists.
Injections Can Be Back Breaking
Did you know researchers have discovered a correlation between epidural steroid injections and spinal fracture risk? Specifically, new studies have indicated that there is a 21% increase in the risk of a patient experiencing a cracked or broken back after receiving an epidural steroid injection. The scary part is, over 9 million of these injections are given every year for spinal pain!
Will Surgery Fix My Back?
We all know someone who has gone through spine surgery and has just never been the same. They may have gone into surgery hoping for a “quick” fix for 20, 30, or 40 years of neglect, but come out the same or worse than they began. Some people even go through multiple surgeries on a constant hunt to get back their quality of life.
Reversing the Aging Process
Millions of people are staying active late in their life using Chiropractic care. Not only do Chiropractic adjustments help to reduce pain, but they also have the potential to slow down the degenerative process on the spine, effectively slowing down father time. Now that’s what I call smart healthcare.