Today LBP has become one of the most costly causes of illness and disability in Canada - a phenomenon which does not appear to be generally appreciated or understood in medical and government circles in Canada. Much of the treatment of LBP appears to be inefficient. Despite this, levels of disability from LBP are increasing. In the Province of Ontario LBP is managed mostly by physicians and chiropractors, with physiotherapists also playing a significant role. While medical services are fully insured under Medicare, chiropractic care services are only partially covered.
Many medical therapies are of questionable validity or are clearly inadequate.
Some medical treatments are equally safe, but others are unsafe and generate iatrogenic complications for LBP patients. Our reading of the literature suggests that chiropractic manipulation is safer than medical management of low-back pain. Indeed, several existing medical therapies of LBP are generally contraindicated on the basis of the existing clinical trials. There is also some evidence in the literature to suggest that spinal manipulations are less safe and less effective when performed by non-chiropractic professionals. We reviewed numerous studies that range from very persuasive to convincing in support of this conclusion.