Chiropractic maintenance care for chronic low back pain

Maintenance chiropractic care is not uncommon for people who regularly seek chiropractic care. They understand the body requires regular adjustment to maintain optimal health. I would like to share a study from SPINE journal* which was conducted among sixty patients with chronic, nonspecific low back pain lasting at least for 6 months.

There were three groups of patients (1) who received 12 sham spinal manipulative therapy (adjustment) for one month, (2) 12 treatments for one month with no further follow up for 9 months, and (3) 12 treatments for one month with maintenance care once every 2 weeks for 9 months. Patients in second and third group improved their low back pain significantly. However, the second group with no further follow-up showed their disability scores returning back to their initial state.

To summarize, the study recommends regular maintenance chiropractic care to prevent chronic low back pain. More importantly, the study suggests maintenance chiropractic care at a frequency of 2 times a month to obtain a long-term benefit after the initial intensive chiropractic care.

Many patients ask me how long they have to get treated for their chief complaints. As you can see from the study, initial intensive care will only treat the current acute problem. It is important to have a maintenance health plan. At RYNK Chiropractic we offer a maintenance wellness plan for people who would like to get regular check ups. Please contact us for more information.