Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see a number of back pain patients in our Salem office, and Dr. Robertson has been able to help many of them find relief with chiropractic. At the same time, recovering from back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical therapy, as many individuals use both types of care with great results.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well with Each Other

In a report published by the journal Spine researchers¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who were suffering from both acute pain and restricted function due to back pain. Some of the patients engaged in treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder received chiropractic care along with standard medical care, as researchers wanted to determine which group fared better.

The authors found that the patients who got standard medical care along with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the patients who received medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits in comparison to just 17 percent of the medical care only group who reported the same amount of improvement. This was true regarding both pain and level of function at the two- and four-week marks.

Accordingly, combining 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 unique advantages over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Pulls Ahead

Although it might seem as if each method plays a 50-50 role, there is one major benefit that chiropractic has over medical treatment 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 patients undergoing medical treatment.

According to the researchers, the main aspects that patients preferred over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't surprising, 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 available with medical treatment, 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 means finding the root 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 treating certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach such as chiropractic. 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 Salem office a call today at (503) 399-7607. We'll do our best 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.