For Primary Care Physicians

A one-page snapshot of Dr. Murphy and the Primary Spine Practitioner approach. Print as a letter-size handout.

Dr. Donald R. Murphy
DC  ·  FRCC  ·  Primary Spine Practitioner
Rhode Island Spine Center
401-447-6230
Fax: (844) 409-0376
crisp4psp@gmail.com
rhodeislandspinecenter.com
75 Sockanosset Cross Rd, Ste 301
Cranston, RI 02920

Why refer to me

Your Challenge

Many of your back and neck pain patients do well with your care, but others need further professional service. What are the options?

PT — 2–3 visits per week, 30–60 minutes each, often for 6 weeks or more
  • Often helpful, but better to start with a more streamlined approach provided by the Primary Spine Practitioner (PSP).
Physical Medicine (Physiatry)
  • Great with complex cases — important but uncommon.
  • Injections useful in uncommon circumstances.
  • Can refer to PT, but you could have done that yourself.
  • Better to start with PSP — widely applicable, minimally invasive skills; can coordinate physical medicine referral when needed.
Orthopedist / Neurosurgeon — skill set is surgery, not non-surgical treatments
  • Surgery only applies to <10% of patients.
  • Not interested in non-surgical patients.
  • Better to start with PSP — widely applicable, minimally invasive skills; can coordinate surgical referral when needed.

Any other options?  YES.

The Solution

Dr. Murphy — Primary Spine Practitioner.

Differential diagnosis first — based on the “3 Questions of Diagnosis”:
  1. Are there “red flags”?
  2. Where is the pain coming from?
  3. What factors are causing it to persist?
  • Usually a handful of 15-minute visits after comprehensive exam.
  • Skilled manual treatments (seldom with “cracking”) and exercise, with focus on simple but effective self-care the patient can spend 10–15 minutes per day doing.
  • “The CBT-ACT Context” — doctor-patient communication informed by the principles of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
For those who need more than a handful of visits:
  • Coordinate with PT
  • Determine if imaging is needed (very uncommon)
  • Coordinate injections (very uncommon)
  • Coordinate surgical consult (very uncommon)
  • And keep you informed every step of the way.
The Result
Your patient is happy with the good result
Appreciative to you for the great referral
For your patient
Book directly online
rhodeislandspinecenter.com/book
Scan to book
Selected Publications
Peer-reviewed research and clinical texts authored by Dr. Murphy.
  1. Murphy DR et al. A nonsurgical approach to the management of patients with cervical radiculopathy: A prospective observational cohort study. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics. 2006;29(4):279–87.
  2. Murphy DR et al. A nonsurgical approach to the management of lumbar radiculopathy secondary to disc herniation: A prospective observational cohort study with long term follow-up. Spine J. 2008;8(5S):161S.
  3. Murphy DR et al. A non-surgical approach to the management of lumbar spinal stenosis: a prospective observational cohort study. BMC musculoskeletal disorders. 2006;7:16.
  4. Schneider MJ, Ammendolia C, Murphy DR et al. Comparative clinical effectiveness of nonsurgical treatment methods in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open. 2019;2(1):e186828.
  5. Murphy DR et al. Outcome of pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain treated according to a diagnosis-based decision rule: a prospective observational cohort study. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics. 2009;32(8):616–24.
  6. Murphy DR. Clinical Reasoning in Spine Pain Volume I: Primary Management of Low Back Disorders. Elsevier 2027.
  7. Murphy DR. Clinical Reasoning in Spine Pain Volume II: Primary Management of Cervical Disorders and Case Studies in Primary Spine Care. Elsevier 2027.
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