Inured Soldiers Need Chiropractic Treatment
Today’s soldiers who are placed in “harm’s way” face the possibility of personal distress at every turn, so it’s no surprise that injuries occur in battle situations. However, not all injuries are caused by flying bullets or bomb blasts. Many of the physical problems encountered by soldiers are similar to those prevalent in civilian life.
In a recent observational study, 162 soldiers who were medically evacuated from Operation Iraqi Freedom were evaluated by a team of United States and German researchers at pain treatment centers outside of the combat theater. It is interesting that only 17% of the evacuees suffered an actual combat injury, and as many as 29% of the victims were not able to identify the cause of their current discomfort.
The most common complaint of soldiers, 53% of those studied, was low back pain. The most frequent identifiable causes of the condition paralleled those suffered in non-military society. The problems stemmed from lifting heavy objects and from motor vehicle accidents.
The medical answer to treating the majority of these victims was nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medical drugs. This was the prescribed treatment in 56% of the cases. Only a rather small number, 17% of the soldiers, were treated with “alternative therapies” including Chiropractic, massage or Acupuncture.
Researchers indicated that, “Our finding that Low Back Pain is the primary pain complaint is not surprising, “and then they continued, “These results indicate that better preventive measures and a more aggressive treatment approach are required to preserve strength and maintain efficiency in the military.”
Involving Chiropractors in training measures to reduce the possibility of injuries and providing more aggressive treatment to those needing care would certainly provide the answers to the researcher’s call to action.