Chiropractic Treatment and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see quite a few back pain patients in our Woburn practice, and Dr. Ellis has been able to help many of them find relief with chiropractic. However, recovering from back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical care, as many individuals use both types of care with great outcomes.

Research 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 discomfort and limited function due to back pain. Some of the test subjects received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest were given chiropractic therapy along with regular medical care, as the authors wanted to see which patients fared better.

Researchers discovered that the patients who got standard medical care combined 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 indicated the same amount of improvement. This was true regarding both pain and level of function at the two-and four-week marks.

Therefore, combining these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you, the patient, offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic and medicine can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some distinct advantages over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Is Effective

Although it might seem as if each method plays a 50/50 role, there is one major advantage that chiropractic has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a study from 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 care.

According to the experts, the main factors that patients favored over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't surprising, as chiropractors commonly 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 care.

Chiropractic Offers a Natural Approach to Wellness

Without a doubt, the strategies associated with chiropractic are quite different than those offered with medical care, but a great deal of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. Rather than focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves tracking down the root cause of your pain, which often translates to greater improvement as you are addressing the problem at its source.

In addition, while medication is sometimes helpful for managing certain conditions, many health issues respond well to natural forms of treatment such as chiropractic care. This means fewer negative responses to medications and lasting results.

You don't have to deal with back pain or other health problems. Give our Woburn clinic a call today at (781) 460-0939. We'll do our best to help you get and stay 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.