How Current Guidelines Align with Our Approach to Neck and Low Back Pain

If you’ve ever dealt with neck or low back pain, you’ve probably noticed that different clinics can take very different approaches. Some physical therapy programs focus almost entirely on exercise. Many medical providers recommend rest, medication, or injections. And some chiropractic offices rely solely on spinal adjustments.

At our clinic, we take a different route — one that combines the strengths of each profession. Our approach aligns with current clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) from chiropractic, physical therapy, and medical organizations. These guidelines outline the best available evidence for diagnosis, treatment, and referral decisions — helping us deliver care that’s both comprehensive and individualized.

Staying Current with the Latest Guidelines

Over the past few years, several professional organizations have published high-quality, evidence-based guidelines that align with how we manage spine-related pain-with a modern and comprehensive approach.

Examples include:

- Chiropractic Guidelines (2023 update) emphasize *multimodal care* — combining manipulation, therapeutic exercise, manual therapy, patient education, and co-management when appropriate.

- Physical Therapy Guidelines for Neck Pain (APTA, 2017) divide neck pain into four categories: mobility deficits, coordination impairments, radiating pain, and headache-related pain. Each category has its own targeted treatment pathway — an approach we use when tailoring patient plans.

- American College of Physicians (ACP) Guidelines for Low Back Pain recommend *manipulation, exercise, and patient education* as primary, evidence-supported treatments before turning to medication or surgery.

Together, these resources highlight a clear message: effective spine care isn’t one-dimensional. The best outcomes come from integrating multiple, evidence-based approaches.

How We Apply These Guidelines in Practice

Our clinicians use these recommendations to guide every step of care:

- Thoughtful assessment and triage. We use guideline-based decision tools to determine when imaging or referral is appropriate — not over-ordering, and not missing something serious.

- Integrated treatment plans. Depending on the patient’s presentation, treatment may include chiropractic manipulation, soft tissue therapy, laser or other appropriate modality, progressive exercise, and education on posture and activity modification.

- Collaborative care. When necessary, we coordinate with primary care, pain specialists, or orthopedic surgeons to ensure continuity of care.

This blend of chiropractic, physical therapy, and medical best practices allows us to offer something rare in modern musculoskeletal care — an integrated, evidence-based model.

Why It Matters for Patients

When care is guided by current research rather than tradition, patients recover faster, stay active longer, and reduce the risk of future flare-ups. By combining the diagnostic precision of modern medicine, the movement-based focus of physical therapy, and the manual expertise of chiropractic, we help patients achieve long-term, sustainable results.

So whether you’ve tried physical therapy, chiropractic, or medication in the past — and felt like something was missing — our approach is designed to fill that gap. It’s modern, comprehensive, collaborative, and fully grounded in today’s best clinical evidence.

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