Lumbago, this is the diagnosis usually given to a person who has diffuse achy low back pain that appeared out of nowhere (idiopathic), has lasted for a few months and doesn’t seem to be related to a disc injury, a fracture or anything more sinister. Lumbago, is a fancy word for “low back pain.” Lumbago can also mean, clinician-is-unsure-what-is-going-on-but-is-confident-that-the-patient-is-not-making-it-up. It’s one of my least favorite diagnoses because I believe that it’s overused and provides so little information. Lumbago is the first thing that came to my mind after reading this journal article and I was relieved. My interpretation of the journal leads me to believe that for those who have a lumbago diagnosis that is truly chronic in nature there is evidence to support an active care plan with long term care that seems reasonable (two treatments a month after an initial bout of care) and that’s with spinal adjustments only.
What this article is not supporting is 20-40 visits for an acute injury, with a known cause i.e. a motor vehicle collision and there is nothing in the article that says it can be applied to chronic neck pain. Will health insurance cover long term care for chronic patients with low back pain? I wouldn’t bet on that (even though some plans cover 20 adjustments a year). Thankfully, a chiropractic adjustment twice a month is relatively affordable, especially for an established patient.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21245790
Nothing written should be taken as medical advice. I’m a fan of evaluations, a diagnosis and a treatment plan. Without all those components please consider my writings as general musings.
