As I am sure you have read in the Merritt Herald last week, two of Merritt’s medical doctors will be closing their practices in the near future. I agree that this will create issues for access to health care for the residents of Merritt. However, I am writing this article to inform those residents that there are other available options for receiving treatment for some of the above ailments. As a chiropractor, I see patients every day that fall under three of the above categories. They are “joint disorders (including arthritis),” “back pain,” and “headaches and migraines.” Although “back problems” is the biggest reason why people see a chiropractor, these three ailments, in addition to neck/shoulder/hip pain, make up most of my practice.

Since its financial burden on society is more than any other ailment, let’s just talk about the treatment of back problems for now.

For those residents of Merritt that suffer from back problems and eventually may or may not have access to a medical doctor, they should consider trying “manipulation.” Manipulation, which is done mostly by chiropractors, has been shown in quality medical studies to be one of the more superior forms of treatment for mechanical low back pain. As a result, many forward thinking medical governing bodies are openly recommending this form of treatment. For example, the national guidelines for the “American Pain Society and American College of Physicians (2007)” are as follows:

As has been true of low back pain guidelines worldwide, the 2007 guidelines prepared by a panel of the American Pain Society and American College of Physicians recognized spinal manipulation (over 90 percent of which is delivered by chiropractors) as an effective procedure for both acute and chronic low back pain. This is consistent with the 1994 Guidelines on Acute Lower Back Pain in Adults [4] from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Policy and Research (AHCPR). Both the APS-ACP guidelines and the earlier AHCPR guidelines were prepared by expert panels based on a full review of all existing research. 

A 2011 systematic review of the cost-effectiveness of treatments endorsed in the APS-ACP guidelines found that spinal manipulation was cost-effective for subacute and chronic low back pain, as were other methods usually within the chiropractor’s scope of practice (interdisciplinary rehabilitation, exercise, and acupuncture).

Regardless of whether or not you have access to a medical doctor for your back problems six months from now, it is worthwhile to visit a chiropractor and see if he or she can help you.

This is not just an idea that I am personally suggesting, it is a method of treatment that is well documented and recommended by medical governing bodies.

Dr. Colin Gage was born and raised in Merritt. He’s been helping patients from his clinic at Nicola Valley Chiropractic since 1996.