The Jackson Clinics

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Spinal Manipulation, Exercise and Advice Offer Patients an Effective Alternative for Back Pain

Middleburg, Virginia, Feb. 14, 2008 – Health care expenditures for patients with spinal conditions are rising without an associated increase in health status, according to a February, 2008 research report appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study suggests Americans may be wasting their money for treatments as the overall proportion of people with impaired function increased from 1997-2005, despite a 65% increase in expenditures to treat spine conditions. Physical therapists offering spinal manipulation, exercise, and advice can provide an effective alternative for patients with back and neck problems, often at a lower cost. (more…)

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Physical Therapy offers same outcomes for patients with sciatica 6 months after surgery.

Middleburg, Virginia, June 23, 2008 – A recent study published in the British Medical Journal1 reports that spinal surgery for patients with sciatica offers a short term benefit, but by 6 months that benefit disappears and no difference is seen between patients who had surgery and those receiving physical therapy. The study suggests that the benefits of surgery are only short-term and conservative treatments such as physical therapy may offer the same outcome. (more…)

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More surgery, more drugs, and more injections are not what the doctor ordered.

Middleburg, Virginia, May 20, 2008 – When it comes to chronic back pain management patients should know that “less is more.” The American Pain Society at their annual meeting unveiled a current review on invasive procedures for the treatment of chronic low back. The scientific review concluded that most invasive interventions, including spinal joint injections, radiofrequency denervation, intradiscal electrothermal therapy demonstrated no evidence of effectiveness. Furthermore, surgical procedures for chronic low back pain demonstrated only small improvement in pain and disability but were accompanied by considerable risk. (more…)

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Middleburg, Virginia, April 26, 2007- Despite widespread use, the supplement chondroitin does not appear to help a majority of individuals with hip and knee pain caused by osteoarthritis.

According to the April 17, 2007 edition of Annals of Internal Medicine Stephan Reichenbach, MD and associates in Switzerland and Germany discovered that while previous meta-analyses described moderate to large benefits of chondroitin in patients with osteoarthritis, recent large-scale trials did not find evidence to support that theory. (more…)

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Middleburg, VA, January 26, 2009– Richard Deyo MD, the keynote speaker at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT) National Conference in October 2008, has again published data indicting the US approach to chronic back pain dramatically increases costs without improved outcomes. Deyo and colleagues reported in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of American Board of Family Practice the following staggering statistics:

• A 629% increase in Medicare expenditures for epidural steroid injections;
• A 423% increase in expenditures for opioids for back pain;
• A 307% increase in the number of lumbar magnetic resonance images among Medicare beneficiaries;
• A 220% increase in spinal fusion surgery rates. (more…)

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Physical Therapy an Alternative to the High Risks of Methadone

Middleburg, Virginia, August 18, 2008 – A recent investigative report1 published in the New York Times highlights the alarming increase in methadone prescriptions for the treatment of chronic spinal pain. The result has been a shocking increase in methadone related deaths. Physical therapists can play a role in providing patients and physicians with an alternative to dangerous pain medications like oxycodone and methadone. (more…)