Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see many back pain patients in our Chesapeake practice, and Dr. David N. Block Family Chiropractic has helped a lot of them find relief with chiropractic. However, recovering from back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical therapy, as many individuals utilize both types of care with great results.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Together

In a study published by the medical journal Spine investigators¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who claimed both acute discomfort and limited function due to back pain. Some of the test subjects received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder received chiropractic care together with regular medical care, as the authors wanted to see which patients fared better.

Researchers determined that the group that received standard medical care combined with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the group that received medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits in comparison 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 the two- and four-week marks.

Thus, combining these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering benefits when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic and medical approaches can work together, chiropractic offers some unique strengths over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Wins

Although it may seem as if each approach plays a 50/50 role, there is one significant advantage that chiropractic has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, one bit of research done at UCLA² that was printed in the American Journal of Public Health reports that, on average, chiropractic patients are generally more satisfied with their recovery than patients undergoing medical treatment.

According to the experts, the main aspects that patients liked over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors frequently spend much more time consulting with their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as discussing more carefully what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Certainly, the strategies associated with chiropractic are very different than those provided with medical care, but a large amount of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. In contrast to focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care means finding the primary cause of your pain, which often results in greater improvement as you are tackling the problem at its source.

Furthermore, while medication is sometimes helpful for managing certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach like chiropractic care. This means fewer negative responses to drugs and more permanent recovery.

You don't have to struggle with back pain or other health issues. Give our Chesapeake office a call today at (757) 436-5428. We'll do everything we can to help you get and continue to be free from back pain.

References

1. 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.
2. 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.