Assessment of Chiropractic Treatment for Low Back Pain and Smoking Cessation in Military Active Duty Personnel.

Patients will receive chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy plus conventional medical care. Medical may include the following: education about self-management, including maintaining activity levels as tolerated and local ice/heat application; pharmacologic management with the use of analgesics and anti-inflammatory agents; and additional therapies that may be applied for volunteers not responding to the initial interventions, including physical therapy and referral to a pain clinic.

Conventional medical care may include the following: a focused history and physical examination; limited diagnostic imaging restricted to select volunteers (i.e., for example, those with radiculopathy); education about self-management, including maintaining activity levels as tolerated and local ice/heat application; pharmacologic management with the use of analgesics and anti-inflammatory agents; and additional therapies that may be applied for volunteers not responding to the initial interventions, including physical therapy and referral to a pain clinic.