Dr. Allan Horowitz, published newspaper article, Richmond Hill Liberal, Copyright November 22, 1990

Upon visiting the neighbourhood pharmacy a few weeks ago the pharmacist beckoned me to the dispensary and told me tat he had something for me. It was a copy of a publication called the Harvard Medical School Health Letter. This publication is put out by Harvard Medical School and has been published for the last 16 years. On the back of the publication is the statement which outlines the intent of the Harvard Medical School Health Letter.

“…To interpret medical information for the general public in a timely and accurate fashion.” It is “dedicated to enlighten and empower our readers in matters that affect their personal health.”

The pharmacist gave me this issue because it dealt with the subject of back pain.

The September 1990 issue had as its main subject lower back pain and the best way to treat this condition. Two of the more common methods of treating lower back pain in recent years have been the “chiropractor approach” which usually uses manipulation of the spine as its primary mode of therapy and something called TENS, which is a shorter way of saying Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation which is used primarily as a way to block pain messages to the brain and therefore dull the pain sensations.

RECENT STUDIES

            The Harvard Medical School letter reports on two recent studies done by British and American researchers. These studies were considered to be excellent research projects with “tight design and careful execution.” The British study was led by T.W. Meade M.D., director of the medical research council’s epidemiology and medical care unit. This study was reported in the British Medical Journal, June 2, 1990 on pages 1431-1437 for those of you who care to look. The TENS study was done by researchers in Seattle and San Antonio and was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine June 7 1990 (pages 1627-1634.)

It is interesting to note that both of these studies appeared in two of the most well-respected journals in the medical field and appeared only five days apart. I remember 10 years ago when chiropractors got all excited and bubbly when the word “chiropractor” or “manipulation” even appeared in a story in Time magazine. We wondered why the world of medical research was passing us by and ignoring our claims of success in treating many types of back pain.

A few years ago, articles began showing up in various publications that many orthopedic specialists and doctors interested in treatment of back pain would take a special interest in reading. Many of these doctors began to see that manipulation of the spinal joints really does do something (it is a hot debate as to what it really does) and really can help many types of back pain.

The general practitioners, who are usually the ones patients see first for their back pain, were still living in the dark ages when it came to the treatment of back pain.

I have only ever practiced in Richmond Hill and can only speak for this area when I say that two local doctors that I am aware of actually do some manipulation in their office and have therefore been aware for a long time that this method of treatment does work.

OPEN MIND

            Most of the other general practitioners have had an open mind when it comes to this form of therapy and even those who I never thought would ever come around actually are.

(Some patients sit in utter disbelief and amazement when their doctor refers them for chiropractic care, as this is the same doctor who two years earlier told them that chiropractors don’t have any place in our health care system. My, how times have changed!)

In the next two weeks, I will review these two studies as they are outlined in the Harvard Medical School Health Letter to find out how effective these two forms of therapy are for your lower back pain. Any guesses?