Did you know that 'back pain' is one of the leading reasons why people visit an Emergency Room? Also among the leading reasons for ER visits include; fever, chest pain, abdominal pain, childhood earaches and injuries involving trauma.
This is concerning because some sources indicate that the average time a patient with a, 'routine' case will wait in the ER is between 3-5 hours. Remember this is an AVERAGE wait time because I know from personal experience that it can be much longer than that. Understandably, people with back pain who visit the ER are in dire straits. In the majority of cases, the pain they are suffering from is severe. On another level, the pain is also extremely worrisome because most of these patients have no idea of what's wrong. They have sought care at the emergency looking for answers and most importantly, relief.
Well according to Benjamin W. Friedman, M.D., of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y., colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis of data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, an annual survey of nationally representative emergency department visits in the United States, from 2002 to 2006. And their findings may or may not surprise you.
For patients that present to the ER with significant back pain, the chances are good the treatment they will receive is a prescription for drugs. Opioids were given to 61.0% of patients, with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs given to 49.9% and muscle relaxants to 43.1%.For those who are not aware, Opioids are pain killers.
In my clinic I consider it essential that patients seeking care for back or spine related issues gain an understanding of the cause of their pain, not just masking the pain. Many spine related issues can be traced back to strains, sprains and mis-alignments of some sort. But which is which? Patients who present to my clinic all receive a thorough physical and orthopedic exam. The purpose for this is so we can identify the most probable cause of the problem. Starting here, we can devise a sensible, organic and conservative plan to address the issues, not just simply masking the pain.
If you're in the Commercial Drive area of East Vancouver, come visit the clinic or check the website here;COMMERCIAL DRIVE - EAST VANCOUVER CHIROPRACTOR; DR. DOMINIC CHAN DC !!!!
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