We see quite a few people with back pain in our Olympia practice, and TJ Delorie has been able to help many of them find relief through various chiropractic techniques. However, dealing with back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical care, as many people use both types of care with great results.
Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well with One Another
In a report published by the academic journal Spine researchers1 looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who reported both acute soreness and restricted function due to back symptoms. Some of the test subjects engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest were given chiropractic adjustments as well as regular medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which patients fared better.
The authors found that the patients who got standard medical care in combination with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the patients who got medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits compared to just 17% of the medical care only group who indicated the same amount of improvement. This was true regarding both pain and level of function at two and four weeks.
Therefore, incorporating these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic care and medicine can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some distinct strengths over medical treatment.
Where Chiropractic Care Is Successful
Although it may seem as if each method plays a 50-50 role, there is one significant benefit that chiropractic has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a study done at UCLA2 that was published in the American Journal of Public Health found that, on average, chiropractic patients are generally more satisfied with their recovery than people undergoing medical treatment.
According to the researchers, the main factors that patients favored over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors commonly spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can improve their health on their own, as well as explaining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic.
Chiropractic Care Offers a Non-Invasive Approach
Certainly, the strategies associated with chiropractic are very different than those offered with medical treatment, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and wellness. Rather than focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves finding the root cause of your pain, which often translates to greater improvement as you are addressing the problem at its source.
Furthermore, while medication is sometimes helpful for treating certain conditions, many health issues respond well to natural forms of treatment such as chiropractic care. This means fewer negative side effects from prescriptions and lasting results.
You don't have to deal with back pain or other health problems. Give our Olympia clinic a call today at 724-123-1234. We'll do our best to help you get and remain free from back pain.
References
- Goertz CM, Long CR, Hondras MA, Petri R, Delgado R, Lawrence DJ, Owens EF, Meeker WC. Adding chiropractic manipulative therapy to standard medical care for patients with acute low back pain: results of a pragmatic randomized comparative effectiveness study. Spine 2013;38(8):627-634.
- Hertzman-Miller RP1, Morgenstern H, Hurwitz EL, Yu F, Adams AH, Harber P, Kominski GF. Comparing the satisfaction of low back pain patients randomized to receive medical or chiropractic care: results from the UCLA low-back pain study. American Journal of Public Health 2002;92(10):1628-1633.