Are there alternative treatments for back pain?

Chiropractic care is an alternative treatment for back pain. The number one diagnosis for Chiropractors is back pain. Chiropractors provide many treatments for back pain relief, such as spinal manipulation, intersegmental traction therapy, ultrasound therapy, electrical muscle stimulation therapy, spinal decompression therapy, flexion / distraction therapy, therapeutic exercises, foot orthotic stabilizers and kinesio-tape therapy.


What sets Chiropractors aside from other physicians is Spinal Manipulation Therapy. Spinal Manipulation Therapy involves low force pressure through a specific plane of motion of a spinal or peripheral joint, in order to reduce spinal fixation / restriction to help improve spinal mobility. Most back pain originates from spinal misalignment. If the structure of the spine is out of alignment "spinal rotation / fixation", then manipulation of that vertebral segment can help relieve the stress in which that segment is placing on the nerves of that specific area.

If you have chronic back pain, you probably have a shelf full of pain-relievers -- and you may have even considered surgery. But gentle treatments can be surprisingly effective. In this video, integrative medicine expert and Dr. Oz Show guest Mosaraf Ali discusses alternative treatments such as acupuncture and yoga, and how they can help you get relief.

Even though Physical Therapy is not considered as an ‘alternative treatment’, what a specific Physical Therapist provides may be alternative to the traditional regimen of hot/cold packs, electrical stimulation, traction, and basic exercises to improve core stability.

At our facility, we determine the type or category of pain the patient is experiencing as well what factors are contributing to the pain. This can include joint, nerves, or soft-tissue tissue pathologies. We also assess muscle and movement control patterns that can cause undue stress on the back. We then investigate if there are other factors such as vitamin / hormonal deficiencies, food allergies, or other systemic issues that could potentially be a source of back pain.

Once this is determined a treatment plan is implemented that encompasses the best evidence-based research to correct the contributing factors. This can include ‘alternative’ techniques such as intramuscular manual therapy (formerly known as trigger point dry needling), nerve rehabilitation techniques, and utilizing real-time ultrasound imaging to visualize proper muscle control around the spine.

In a word, absolutely! There are many "alternatives" to medication and surgery for back pain relief. The conservative, natural approaches Chiropractors have been using for nearly over 100 years have been well documented in the literature in recent years.  However, what you need to keep in mind is that there are many different causes of back pain; from something as simple as a sprained/strained muscle,tendon, or ligament to metastasized cancer (cancer that has spread to the spine).

Unlike physical therapists, yoga instructors, Rolfers and personal trainer, a Chiropractor has many more years of educational training. So, to diagnosis the cause of your back pain fits into the Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) "scope of practice." However, your Chiropractor may infact order a physical therapist, yoga instructor, rolfer or a personal trainer to provide the therapy though. All these allied health and fitness professional play an important role.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it is often times a combination of therapies/treatments that does the "trick". Therefor, be sure to look for a Chiropractor that takes a comprehensive approach to resolving  back pain. There is a time and place for the quick trip to the Chiropractor for that quick adjustment, but, most of the time for the chronic back pain suffer, it is not the case.

The Chiropractor will recommend what he/she believes to be the most effective and appropriate treatment plan, but, I recommend when chosing a Chiropractor if you don't already have one that you look for physical therapy modalities like: ultrasound machines, Lasers, rehab equipment, traction/spinal decompression equipment, nutritional products, etc...

Your Doctor of Chiropractic may decided not to treat your back pain with any of that equipment, or maybe not even at all. Your Chiropractor may even make a referral to a surgeon. However, keep an eye out for that kind of equipment in a chiropractic clinic. It speaks volumes. It will let you know that your chiropractor takes a comprehensive approach. Most of the time, it is a combination of different treatments that resolves the chronic back pain case. Health and Happiness...

Watch as Integrative Medicine Specialist Dr. Roberta Lee suggests some alternative treatments for back pain.

There are many alternative treatments for back pain, and of the oldest is acupuncture. For almost 2,000 years acupuncture has been used to treat all types of back pain from injury to chronic arthritis. Modern research has also proven the effectiveness of acupuncture for back pain. In 2007 the Archives of Internal Medicine published a large study of treating back pain with acupuncture that looked at over 1,000 patients. The results showed that not only was acupuncture effective for back pain, but it was almost twice as effective as regular treatments.