Chiropractic Care vs. Muscle Relaxants

Low back pain is one of the most common health complaints, effecting millions of adults and children every day. Back pain can arise from many different reasons, but the majority of low back pain is mechanical - meaning that there is some part of your body (mainly the joints of your spine) that are not moving as well as they should. This leads to pain, and eventually other bodily compensations to correct for this lack of proper motion in your joints. 

What are your options? Options typically include: 

• Muscle relaxers
• Chiropractic care
• Rest
• NSAIDs
• Physical therapy
• Massage therapy

Many times, patients are prescribed muscle relaxers for their backache. There are many such cases of this with the muscle relaxers that did not meaningfully help the patient. The reason this is not effective is because the underlying problem is due to one or more joint restrictions in the spine, not due to tight muscles. Chiropractic care works by restoring the proper motion to the affected joint(s), which will allow the muscles to relax, improve range of motion, and improve bodily function.

According to Harvard Health’s overview of chiropractic care, the American College of Physicians' Evidenced-Based Clinical Guidelines for treating non-radicular low back pain says that "Physicians and patients should treat acute or sub-acute low back pain with non-drug therapies such as: heat, superficial massage, spinal manipulation, or acupuncture.". ACOP also states that according to the evidence, Acetominophen and systemic steroids are not effective in treating acute or sub-acute low back pain. 

Bottom Line:

Many patients with low back pain have a mechanical issue with their joints, which is not an issue that is best corrected with medication. That is why spinal manipulation (chiropractic care), heat, exercise, acupuncture, and massage therapy are more effective than medication for the majority of low back pain cases.

Sources: Chiropractic care for pain relief - Harvard Health & American College of Physicians issues guideline for treating nonradicular low back pain | ACP Online