How to Relieve Lower Back Pain: Chiropractors & Biofreeze
Lower back pain (LBP) is a common condition that can lead patients to chiropractors when looking for pain relief. Are you doing everything you can to bring your patients relief?
A study published in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine found that chiropractic care and Biofreeze reduced patient pain more than chiropractic care alone.1 Learn more about this study and find out if Biofreeze can help your patients!
- Back Pain Statistics
- Get the Facts About Biofreeze
- Ready to help your patients? Learn more about Biofreeze and Chiropractic Care in this study!
- Study Summary
- Find the Perfect Biofreeze Option for You and Your Patients
- Learn more!
Back Pain Statistics
- As many as 80% of people will have lower back pain symptoms at some point in their life1
- Lower back pain is the 2nd most popular symptom causing patients to seek care in the U.S.1
- The estimated direct and indirect costs of this care is more than $50 billion in the U.S.1
Get the Facts About Biofreeze
Have you heard of Biofreeze before? It’s a topical analgesic. Biofreeze comes in many forms including a gel, roll-on, or spray that can all be applied directly to the skin.
Biofreeze provides cooling relief for users. It’s thought to work through the pain gate theory. Pain receptors send a signal to your brain, but the cold sensation of Biofreeze overrides the signal so you just feel the cold.
Ready to help your patients?
Learn more about Biofreeze and Chiropractic Care in this study!
Study Title
Effects of Biofreeze and Chiropractic Adjustments on Acute Low Back Pain: A Pilot Study1
Authors
John Zhang MD, PhD, Dennis Enix DC, Brian Snyder DC, Kristan Giggey DC, Rodger Tepe PhD
Participants
36 subjects (25 male, 11 female) with an average age of 34 years old
Methods
- Control Group
- 18 subjects who received diversified manual adjustments by licensed chiropractors twice a week for four weeks
- Experimental Group
- 18 subjects who received diversified manual adjustments by licensed chiropractors twice a week for four weeks
- AND applied Biofreeze to the lower back area three times a day for four weeks
- Assessments: Taken at baseline, 2 weeks after treatment, and 4 weeks after treatment
- Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for LBP
- Subjects used a pen to mark their pain severity on a horizontal line scale from 0 to 10
- Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire
- A standard 24 question questionnaire for the assessment of lower back pain on daily function
- Lower Back Muscle Electromyography (EMG)
- Electromyographic data recorded at 1000 Hz by surface electrodes connected to an amplifier and streamed to a notebook computer
- Two EMG modules were used for each EMG recording session (standing and bending forward), each module had three electrodes (positive, negative, and ground)
- Heart Rate Variability Analysi
- A heart rate variability analysis was performed using Biocom HRV device
- Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for LBP
Treatment
Chiropractic Care: Control and Experimental Group
Three chiropractors had training sessions to ensure they provided consistent care and to reduce variations in treatment results. Each subject received diversified manual adjustments twice a week for four weeks.
Biofreeze: Experimental Group
Subjects in the experimental group applied Biofreeze before chiropractic adjustments on treatment days. For at-home care, subjects were instructed to use a 5 gram sample pack and apply Biofreeze three times a day as follows: Apply Biofreeze to the lower back once in the morning and twice in the afternoon. For evening application, apply once in the late afternoon, once in the evening, and one at bedtime.
Subjects were instructed to apply half the Biofreeze packet to the hand and massage it to one side of the low back from just above the tailbone to a few inches above the waist. Then apply the rest of the packet to the other side. If the area was difficult to reach, subjects were advised to ask for assistance to apply Biofreeze.
Results
- Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for LBP
- Significant pain reduction was found after each week of treatment in the experimental group. There were no significant differences for the control group.
- Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire
- There were no significant changes in the control or experimental groups after four weeks of treatment.
- Lower Back Muscle Electromyography (EMG)
- There were no significant changes in the control or experimental groups after four weeks of treatment.
- Heart Rate Variability Analysis
- There were no significant changes in the control or experimental groups after four weeks of treatment.
*Image from study: Effects of Biofreeze and chiropractic adjustments on acute low back pain: a pilot study*
Discussion
The significant pain reduction effect was not found in the chiropractic adjustment only control group. This is surprising after four weeks of care. The failure to show significant pain relief in this group could be due to the small sample size or variations introduced by the treating doctors. One limitation of this study was that treatments were provided by three doctors. This was done because of the doctors’ busy schedules and the scattered patient visits. Variables due to different adjustment positions and forces applied by treating doctors may have led to less consistent treatment effects.
However, the pain relieving effect from Biofreeze was more consistent. It was applied by patients at home and not affected by changing treating doctors. Subject reported a cooling sensation immediately after applying the gel to the lower back and responded positively.
Conclusion
Biofreeze combined with chiropractic adjustments significantly reduced acute lower back pain compared to the active control group.
Study Summary
Find the Perfect Biofreeze Option for You and Your Patients
Biofreeze comes in gel, spray, and roll-on forms in a variety of sizes, making it easy to find the right option for your patients and your clinic.
Learn more about Biofreeze. Find your international dealer to shop now!
Learn more!
Still want to learn more about the effects of Biofreeze and chiropractic adjustment? Read the full study here!
Want to learn more about Biofreeze? Check out more studies on Biofreeze now!
References
- Zhang, J., Enix, D.E., Snyder, B., Giggey, K., & Tepe, R. (2008). Effects of Biofreeze and chiropractic adjustments on acute low back pain: a pilot study. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 7, 59–65. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcme.2008.02.004 https://bit.ly/3g7SMpq
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