414-483-1060414-483-1060
5133 S. Pennsylvania Ave Ste 103 | Cudahy, WI 53110
Dr. Kenneth Koch has been in practice for 27 years. He became interested in Chiropractics because of the benefits he received while in his youth. Read more...
Office Hours:
| Monday | 8:00am - 11:00am | 1:00pm - 6:00pm |
| Tuesday | 1:30pm - 6:00pm | |
| Wednesday | 8:00am - 11:00am | 1:00pm - 6:00pm |
| Thursday | Closed | |
| Friday | 8:00am - 11:00am | 1:00pm - 6:00pm |
| Saturday | Closed | |
| Sunday | Closed |
Milwaukee Chiropractic Treatments for Back PainBy Dr. Kenneth Koch, Milwaukee Chiropractor
The Times They Are A - Changin is a popular song from the 60’s by Bob Dylan. This theme could also hold true for the way we treat the myriad of people each year that suffer from back pain. For years when questioned about chiropractic care for a back problem, many medical doctors would simply say “It doesn’t work” and that would be that. All you had was a friend or relative, that after having tried traditional allopathic medicine (drugs, physical therapy) with no relief, finally saw a chiropractor which resolved their pain. There were no studies, no research to point to. Suddenly chiropractic care is being brought into clinical studies and in a sense is being put to the test, which is basically what we as a profession have always wanted.
One such study, cited in the December 2010 issue of Spine (one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world dealing with back issues) compared the chiropractic treatment of patients with acute mechanical low back pain to traditional therapy utilized by medical doctors. These patients were followed over a 16 week period. The bottom line of this study: after 16 weeks of care, patients referred to medical doctors saw almost no improvement with their disability scores, were still likely to be taking pain drugs and saw no additional benefit with added physical therapy, and yet through all of this, patients were unlikely to be referred to a doctor of chiropractic.
Researchers concluded that “treatment including CSMT (chiropractic spinal manipulation therapy) is associated with significantly greater improvement in condition specific functioning” than usual care provided by a family physician. The results were noticeable at eight weeks, but “clearly significant” (a quote from the article) at 24 weeks of follow up.
Interestingly, inclusion of manipulation by physical therapists was found to be no more effective in treating patients than family doctors who offered patient advice and acetaminophen (Tylenol). In fact, this particular study criticized a 2007 study which questioned the effectiveness of spinal manipulation for low back pain. It pointed out that the conclusions of effectiveness were based on the outcomes of therapies performed by non-chiropractors. The 2010 study noted “although spinal manipulation is currently administered by many different healthcare professionals, including chiropractors, osteopaths, orthopedic surgeons, family physicians, kinesiologists, naturopaths and physiotherapists, the level of training and clinical acumen vary widely. The 2007 study therefore differs from our study because their study did not use chiropractic spinal manipulation and current guidelines based care does not endorse any forms of spinal manipulation administered by any other practitioners.”