La Grande Chiropractic and Back Pain Relief Expectations via Surgical or Conservative Care
What expectations do you have of your chiropractic care of La Grande back pain? That question is huge. Research is reporting that that questions of expectations plays a role in back pain treatment outcome be the treatment surgical or conservative. Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC aspires to hear your expectations of our La Grande back pain treatment and share what our treatment’s outcomes have been in practice and in research.
INFLUENTIAL EXPECTATIONS FOR BACK SURGERY OUTCOMES
A new research project examined patient and surgeon expectations of back surgery. Patients expected complete relief and improvement of their back pain after lumbar spine surgery. Surgeons expected improvement that ranged from a little to a lot dependant on the patient and his/her specific condition. Can you guess whose expectations were met? The surgeons’ expectations. Two years after the back surgery, the patient-reported outcomes met the surgeon’s expectations. The researchers stressed that effective communication about expectations may well advance better outcomes. (1) That’s why Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC spends time with each La Grande back pain patient early on in care, making sure the source of pain and its treatment plan are well-explained. If not, tell us!
AN ACCEPTABLE SYMPTOM STATE
If original patient expectations are not met with back surgery, what is an “acceptable symptom state” for that back pain patient? What can he/she live with? For patients with chronic non-specific low back pain (with or without active discopathy), 54% stated having an acceptable symptom state at 1 month of care. Specifically, patient-reported acceptable symptoms included: 47.5 for lumbar pain, 30.5 for radicular pain, 39.3 for disability, 10.0 for anxiety, and 6.7 for depression. (2) Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC knows no pain is the preferred state and is prepared to talk with our La Grande chiropractic patients their options and possible outcomes.
DECIDING ON TREATMENT OPTIONS
The question of back surgery is a big issue. Evidence-based medicine sees that the patient at the center of care. What is the patient perspective of this care? How is the patient perspective considered in treatment planning and decision making among available options? A new paper pointed out that the patient’s social, psychological, and other non-clinical characteristics must be considered in planning care. (3) One issue in the back-surgery decision that reportedly impacts the decision and the outcome expectation is opioid use. Lower dose and shorter-time-taking opioid use patients expected more complete improvement compared with non-users. They also had higher expectations of positive outcome than higher-dose opioid patients. (4) For many patients, the prospect of work is goal of back pain treatment which is affirming according to this new report on how back pain patient recovery expectations impact clinical outcomes. A review of 60 studies found that a patient’s recovery expectations are probably strongly associated with future work participation. (5) Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC applies effective, nonsurgical care of back pain to meet patient expectations once the research on outcomes for other back pain sufferers is described and understood. La Grande chiropractic care keeps the back pain patient at its center.
CONTACT Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC
Check out this PODCAST with Dr. Anthony Galante on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he described how Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management and chiropractic treatment assisted in the management of back pain for a patient who was adamant about not wanting back surgery.
Make your next La Grande chiropractic visit soon. Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC wants to know your answer to the question of your expectations for our treatment so that we can both be satisfied with the outcome!
