American College of Physicians endorses Chiropractic Care

“How does a primary care practitioner use the information from the guideline when seeing a patient with Lower Back Pain?

– Do they refer the patient for all recommended treatments?

– Do they refer the patient for each treatment one at a time until they land on one that helps?

– Do they provide a list of recommended treatments and allow the patient to choose?

None of these are efficient options, in our view.

We think this illustrates the need in spine care for a designated professional who is specially trained, skilled and experienced in evidence-based clinical reasoning to determine the best course of action for each individual patient.

A professional who can, based on the unique clinical features in each patient, provide differential diagnosis, manage the majority without the need for referral and, when necessary, provide guidance regarding other noninvasive or invasive options

As the guideline points out, medications are not recommended as a first-line approach, so this professional need not be a medical physician.

This role can be played by specially-trained chiropractors.”