During the physical assessment, it is important to build a treatment plan for the best outcome of care for each patient. Treatment plans may consist of soft tissue therapy, joint manipulation, lifestyle modifications, and patient education, followed by exercise rehabilitation. Exercise rehab can play an important role in progressing the effectiveness of your care. Exercise has been shown to prevent injuries and create healthy long-term results.
Pain Management / Relief through Active and Passive Care
A treatment plan typically consists of active and passive care. Passive care includes interventions that are provided by your chiropractor such as adjustments, soft tissue therapy, and joint mobilizations. Active care is done by the patient and is commonly guided by educational advice from the chiropractor. Passive treatment can help with immediate pain relief, but active care allows the patient to reach a functional long-term goal (1). Active care also allows the patient to have control over their care and treatment outcome. It is common to become doubtful that the pain will ever go away, but adding active care to the treatment plan may provide a more positive outlook on the long-term goal.
Evidence suggests that treatments involving manual therapy and exercise are more effective than other approaches for patients with neck pain (2). It was also found that after a two-year follow-up period, the groups with chiropractic adjustments and exercise versus adjustments alone better maintained their improvement over time (3). The patient group that received adjustments and exercise was also more satisfied with the care they received for their chronic neck pain. Chiropractic treatment typically includes advice or education related to physical activity and lifestyle changes. A treatment plan goal can include avoiding the same complaint in the future, and exercise-based treatment has been proven to stop the recurrence of musculoskeletal complaints.
Improving Chronic Pain and Everyday Health & Wellness
As care progresses, home exercise advice may evolve into an exercise prescription, which is dependent on the patient and their specific needs or goals. There are many variables and lifestyle habits that can affect progress in reducing chronic pain. Exercise can help chronic pain by improving sleep, bone/muscle health, and the ability to do daily activities (5). Making small changes to habits can aid in the outcome of care.
As previously mentioned, chiropractic treatment plans typically include rehab exercises and/or lifestyle changes. Current data and research support the use of patient-focused active care for best treatment outcomes and to reduce chronicity in patient complaints.
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- Cosio D, Lin E. Role of Active Versus Passive Complementary and Integrative Health Approaches in Pain Management. Glob Adv Health Med. 2018 Apr 10;7:2164956118768492. doi: 10.1177/2164956118768492. PMID: 29662720; PMCID: PMC5896844.
- Hurwitz EL, Carragee EJ, van der Velde G, Carroll LJ, Nordin M, Guzman J, Peloso PM, Holm LW, Côté P, Hogg-Johnson S, Cassidy JD, Haldeman S; Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders. Treatment of neck pain: noninvasive interventions: results of the Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2008 Feb 15;33(4 Suppl):S123-52. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181644b1d. PMID: 18204386.
- Evans, Roni DC, MS*; Bronfort, Gert DC, PhD*; Nelson, Brian MD†; Goldsmith, Charles H. PhD‡. Two-Year Follow-up of a Randomized Clinical Trial of Spinal Manipulation and Two Types of Exercise for Patients with Chronic Neck Pain. Spine: November 1, 2002 – Volume 27 – Issue 21 – p 2383-2389
- Canadian Chiropractic Association. September 2016. Accessed August 20, 2022.
- Physical activity guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition (chapter 2, page 32)
We’ve been serving individuals and families in the southside community of Edmonton for over 20 years. Contact us here to book an appointment regarding pain management. Learn more about our various services by following the links below.