Whole Health Wellness Blog | Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Massage, Nutrition | Denver, Colorado

Anyone who has experienced lower back pain knows that physical function and con­centration on a task can be greatly reduced by the discomfort. Now imagine experiencing the same pain while piloting a $40 million F/A 18 fighter jet while traveling near the speed of sound. Talk about adding risk to an already dangerous profession.

A recent article in the research journal Chiropractic & Osteopathy provided a unique glimpse into an otherwise undisclosed area of medical treatment. It’s not that pilots, and high-speed fighter pilots in particular, don’t suffer from job-related pains, it’s just that they often go unreported by the pilots themselves who fear the possibility of grounding.

In this case, the 36-year-old aviator/instructor with 15 years of flying experience reported his lower back difficulties to his flight surgeon. That doctor prescribed pain medications and confined him to quarters. As if having his wings clipped wasn’t bad enough, the pain grew worse. This put him into a hospital where he remained for 24 hours. Another confinement of 72 hours followed.

Although he was returned to active duty and to flying, he was sent for consultation to a neurosurgeon. More examinations followed, then prescriptions for anti-inflammatory medication, followed by physical therapy, one session of Acupuncture, some Osteopathic treatment and exercise. By this time 4 months had passed, and he was now suffering intense spasms in his lower back. Sometimes it took him 10 minutes to get out of bed and 15 to crawl out of the seat of his fighter plane.

Finally, a visit to a chiropractor was recommended. By this juncture, the pilot was at times willingly removing himself from flight lineups. Following an extensive exam, Chiropractic treatment was begun in the lumbar region (lower back) area. It wasn’t long before the pilot was responding favorably.

By the time of his 5^th Chiropractic visit, the pilot reported that the sharp muscle spasms he’d been experiencing were a thing of the past. While he still experienced some stiffness, he was able to return to his regular flying status and had discontinued all med­ications! Progress continued over the course of the next 15 appointments over a 26-week period.

In a final follow-up visit 1 month after his last appointment, the pilot was completely pain free and had full bodily function. He was flying multiple missions per week of sev­eral hours duration and had passed his required physical fitness testing. Part of that test required 100 sit-ups in a 2 minute period which he passed with no pain. How’s that for a high-flying Chiropractic success story!

Source: Chiropractic and Osteopathy http://www.chiroandosteo.com/content/14/1/11 and Chiropractic Research http://www.chiropracticresearch.org/ 2006.