Under the leadership of Dr. Michael Herb, Absolute Wellness Center offers many treatments for conservative pain management, including sports medicine, chiropractic medicine, naturopathic medicine, physical rehabilitation, acupuncture, and therapeutic massage.

“Conservative” treatment options are treatments that are non-invasive (like medication) or substantially less invasive than surgery (like injections or chiropractic adjustments). As a general rule, patients should not be directed to surgery or other non-conservative treatment options for their pain management unless conservative treatment fails or there are complications supporting surgical intervention.

Chiropractic physicians like Dr. Michael Herb usually use spinal manipulations and other chiropractic adjustments for pain management, often in conjunction with other conservative therapies such as physical therapy, acupuncture, massage, home exercises, health counseling, ergonomic advice, and so on.

Our naturopathic physician Dr. Kalli Phillips offers additional resources and care for conservative pain management, including prolotherapy and rejenerative medicine.

Our rehabilitation team use a variety of exercises and protocols to treat, manage, and prevent movement dysfunction, enhance physical and functional abilities, and restore, maintain, and promote optimal physical function and wellness.

In 2011, the government published a report entitled “Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis.” It showed that while the use of some illicit drugs has diminished, the abuse of prescription medications has sharply increased (e.g., Oxycontin or Vicodin). Prescription painkiller abuse is increasingly taking lives.

According to the U.S. Bone and Joint Decade, the number of prescription medications has increased in the past 10 years. Chiropractic medicine may lessen or eliminate the need for medications in some cases and help patients avoid unnecessary surgery. Chiropractic physicians treat the whole person, promote wellness and strive to address the underlying cause of patients’ ailments, not just their symptoms. And more research is published every day proving the efficacy of chiropractic on an array of health issues, helping patients recover faster without (or with decreased) reliance on prescriptions.

For instance, current evidence-based guidelines support the use of conservative care like chiropractic for conditions such as chronic lower back pain. In 2007, the Annals of Internal Medicine published low back pain guidelines developed by the American Pain Society and the American College of Physicians recommending that, for patients who do not improve with self-care, doctors should consider non-pharmacologic therapies such as chiropractic care, massage therapy and acupuncture.

Observational study found that low back pain patients receiving chiropractic care, which typically includes spinal manipulation, are more satisfied than those receiving medical care.

-New England Journal of Medicine

To learn more about your options today, please call our office at 541-484-5777.

 Sources: American Chiropractic Association, Medical News Today, New England Journal of Medicine, & Spine-Health.com