National Institutes of Health: New Study of Chronic Back, Neck, Sciatic Nerve Pain Suffers Show A Need For New Rehabilitation Approach

Back pain, neck pain, and sciatic nerve pain sufferers need new solutions

New research, sponsored and funded by the NIH, National Institutes of Health, found that the use of alternative treatments, such as exercise, for chronic neck, back, and sciatica pain suffers may be more effective and less utilized than could and should be. This was discovered during a study of individuals surveyed after seeing their primary care providers and back pain, sciatica pain and neck pain practitioners. The researchers noted it has been discovered that exercise is one of the few significantly effective therapies underutilized for the disabling conditions of chronic back pain, neck pain and sciatic nerve pain.

Note: It must be noted here that I am not a physician and this is not intended to be or usurp the advice of your licensed medical practitioner. My doctoral fellowship was in physical anthropology, my specialty in age-progressive phenomena affecting the spine and sacroiliac joint. So, I am an expert when it comes to the morphology (structure) and physiology, as it relates to the back and pelvis (hips) and what goes on as you age, but I am not a medical doctor.

Furthermore and perhaps more significantly, I have had, over the course of my rather short life (ha!), 14 surgeries on my spine! I think this may give me a perspective not enjoyed, if enjoyed is the proper word, by many of my medical, chiropractic, osteological, and physical anthropological (no, not like CSIs) colleagues.

Credits: The research was published in the February 2009 Arthritis Care & Research and was conducted by Timothy S. Carey and Janet K. Freburger, in conjunction with the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill's Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. As part of the study, they surveyed by telephone six hundred and eighty-four (684) chronic neck and/or back pain sufferers, many with sciatic nerve pain or sciatica, who saw a physical therapist, chiropractor, or physician at some point in the last twelve (12) months. Of the chronic back and neck pain, and sciatica, sufferers surveyed only a shade less than half (48%) were advised to perform any sort of exercise program.

It may be suggestive that only half were of those contacted were encouraged to engage in any sort of exercise program, regardless of how rudimentary, and that medical practitioners may need to look at alternative strategies for their patients suffering the debilitating effects of long-term, chronic back pain, neck pain, and sciatica.

For alternative pain strategies two programs I support are:

http://www.HowToStopSciatica.com

and

http://www.HowToStopSciatica.info

For further information and another community of back, neck, and sciatic nerve pain sufferers go to:

http://www.ultimateback back strategies.com

For additional articles on the topic go to:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Zajaros