The subject of maintenance care is often a controversial one in many chiropractic offices.
Here are the conclusions of a few peer reviewed medical research studies.
1. A study published in PLOS/ONE in September 2018 concluded that maintenance care was more effective than symptom-based treatment in reducing the total number of days over 52 weeks with bothersome non-specific low back pain. For patients with recurrent or persistent non-specific LBP who responded well to initial chiropractic care, maintenance care should be considered an option for prevention.
2. A study published in the medical journal The Spine concluded that chiropractic manipulation is effective in the treatment of low back pain and suggests maintenance adjustments after the initial intensive therapy.
3. A study in 2011 published in The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine provides additional support for the value of chiropractic maintenance care for post injury low back pain patients. The study followed 894 injured workers for a period of one year. During that year there were four different types of therapy available to the workers: medical management, physical therapy, chiropractic and no treatment. Episodes of repeat disability were recorded during the year following the initial injury. Physical therapy had the highest percentage of reinjured workers followed by those receiving medical management or no treatment at all. The lowest incidence of repeat injury was found among those workers who had received chiropractic maintenance care.