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Office Hours: |
Monday 8a-6p
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday 8a-6p
Thursday 8a-6p
Friday 7:30a-2:30p |
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Canadians Say Back Pain is
an Important Health Condition, and Rate Chiropractic
High
From the June 25, 2003 issues of the Ottawa Citizen, and
the June 26 London Free Press, comes a report on the
surprisingly high rate at which Canadians suffer from
back pain. According to the article, a poll released
indicated that almost two-thirds of Canadians
experienced back pain in the past year, while more than
seven in 10 withstood back pain of some degree over the
last two years. Dr. Greg Stewart, president of the
Canadian Chiropractic Association stated, "This is
information that is even surprising to practitioners in
the back-pain industry."
Results of an Environics Research Group poll conducted
in April 2003 suggest that four in 10 respondents
reported pain lasting from several days to a week and
almost a third said their injuries lingered for a month
or longer. About 37 per cent of back pain victims said
health conditions such as surgery, pregnancy or
work-related injuries were at the root of their pain.
"It's accumulated damage; so if you had back pain every
time you lifted or when you bent over, well it wouldn't
take long for behavior to change." said Dr. Stewart.
"Unfortunately these things are obviously gradual onset
and so you literally get away with it too much until the
damage is severe enough that the symptoms become very
severe."
The poll also found that 88 per cent of Canadians rate
back pain as a "very" or "somewhat" important health
condition, ranking as important as cancer, heart disease
and AIDS, to about a third of those. Fourteen per cent
said they did nothing about their condition. Almost 55
per cent cited cost as a barrier to seeking treatment,
usually because they wouldn't be covered by a provincial
health plan or an employee benefits plan. Of those who
sought help, 90 per cent said they were satisfied with
treatment provided by a chiropractor. |
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