We see a number of people with back pain in our Highland Park, Saint Paul, Minnesota practice, and Robert C Slater, DC has been able to help a lot of them find relief with chiropractic care. However, recovering from back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical therapy, as many people utilize both types of care with great outcomes.
Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Well Together
In a study published by the journal Spine investigators1 looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who claimed both acute pain and limited function due to back pain. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest received chiropractic adjustments along with regular medical care, as the authors wanted to see which patients fared better.
Researchers discovered that the patients who received standard medical care combined with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the patients who got medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits compared to just 17 percent of the medical treatment 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, integrating 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 together, chiropractic offers some distinct advantages over medical therapy.
Where Chiropractic Care Is Successful
Although it might seem as if each approach plays a 50/50 role, there is one major benefit that chiropractic has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a study conducted at UCLA2 that was printed 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 experts, the main aspects that patients preferred over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors tend to spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can improve their health on their own, as well as discussing more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic care.
Chiropractic Is a Natural Approach to Wellness
Without a doubt, the techniques associated with chiropractic are quite different than those available with medical care, but a great deal of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and well-being. Instead of focusing on only relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves finding the primary cause of your pain, which often results in greater improvement as you are addressing the problem at its source.
In addition, while medication is sometimes helpful for treating certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach like chiropractic. This means fewer negative side effects from medications and lasting results.
You don't have to struggle with back pain or other health issues. Give our Highland Park, Saint Paul, Minnesota office a call today at (651) 699-3366. We'll do everything we can to help you get and stay 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.
