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
Dr Peter J. Stanton said:
on October 6, 2008 at 12:55 am
Talk about you data not supporting your conclusions!
Longer care is associated with poorer outcomes because those patients turn out to be difficult cases (obese patients, older patients, patients who hate their job etc..). In all cases where the treatment needed is of shorter duration, it is because the case is easy (patients tend to be younger, normal weight, motivated).
PJS