The health plan at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) which covers insured in 15 counties in western Pennsylvania has created a new guideline for patients with chronic low back pain who are considering surgery. In what is a landmark guideline decision, the UPMC is mandating that patients first try a 3 month period of conservative treatment, including Chiropractic, physical medicine, and medication. The UPMC is quoted as saying “We feel strongly that this clinical initiative will improve the quality of care for members who are considering low back surgery, and that it will facilitate their involvement in the decision making process.”
What this means is that this integrated and least invasive approach has been found to be the most likely to be successful in treatment of low back pain other than surgery. This is something that Chiropractic Physicians have known for a long time and is it very important to see that the wider medical community is adopting a non-invasive approach to chronic low back pain.