ChiropracticPain

What’s the optimal duration of chiropractic care for work-related disabilities?

30 days for low back pain, according to this study by the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety in Hopkins, Massachusetts.

First, the details.

  • Patients from 4 states who received chiropractic care for uncomplicated occupational low back pain (OLBP) were identified through worker’s compensation claims.

And, the results.

  • Chiropractic care was started within 30 days after the onset of OLBP by 89% of claimants.
  • Of those, 48% ended chiropractic care within 30 days.
  • After controlling for potential confounding factors, shorter chiropractic care duration was still significantly associated with a lower likelihood of work-disability recurrence and 8.6% shorter work-disability duration.

The bottom line?
According to the authors, there was no benefit of chiropractic care for more than 30 days in reducing work-disability recurrence or duration in OLBP.

1/15/08 22:41 JR

Hi, I’m JR

John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.