Staying current with the latest news and research from the physical therapy / wellness industry is necessary to ensure I am providing the best care and advice for my patients. Sifting through the seemingly endless numbers of journals with the latest research can be tedious though. Thankfully, one of my classmates from CMCC does this job for me and any of my colleagues willing to subscribe to this valuable service. In turn, my job is to now pass this valuable information on to you - my friends, family, patients, and readers.
Today, I read a review of research about the role of exercise in rehabilitating from chronic low back pain. The results and conclusions were that prescription exercise is a necessary component to your chronic back pain rehabilitation. Moreover, the combination of exercise and conservative therapy improved pain and function more than exercise alone. The research went on to investigate which types of physical therapists tended to provide this best-care strategy, and how many patients in total actually received this strategy. I won't reveal too many more specifics about this research in this blog so as to not spoil the great work and service of my friend/former classmate. But, of course, I will be happy to discuss the specifics further via email, phone, and in the office.
But, this research review did remind me of something that I tell many of the people I meet who are thinking about or searching for a therapist to help them with their injuries: It does not necessarily matter which type of therapist you see (chiropractor, physiotherapist, etc), rather it is critically important that your therapist delivers excellent and thorough treatment. A single-modality approach to a chronic problem is rarely going to be the best approach. We know that (1) conservative therapy and (2) exercise prescription and advice is required to combat chronic injuries, so never settle for a limited attack (note to self: never say never; sometimes there are unique circumstances). In the old days, physiotherapists prescribed exercise, while chiropractors cracked backs. Today, with more research, more and more physical therapists are combining conservative treatment with exercise prescription.
As for what kinds of exercise (cardio, weights, stretching, etc), and what kinds of treatment (manipulation, mobilization, massage, laser, acupuncture, etc), we'll leave that for another blog or in-person discussion. Sufficed to say, I will continue to provide the best conservative treatment I can, while offering my best advice about exercise.
And, in the spirit of exercise, this weekend I will be outside road-cycling with my father on Saturday and then participating in the CMCC 5Km run for chiropractic education on Sunday.
Our first beautiful, warm weekend of the spring. I'll be out there training for my first triathlon (hence the picture above)! Hopefully you too will be motivated to get outside exercising this weekend. Be safe and enjoy!
