Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see many back pain patients in our San Angelo office, and Dr. Tim Pittman has helped a lot of them get relief with chiropractic care. However, dealing with back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many people use both types of care with great success.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well with Each Other

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 restricted function due to back-related issues. Some of the test subjects engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest received chiropractic care as well as regular medical care, as the authors wanted to see which patients fared better.

The authors discovered that the patients who got standard medical care in combination with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the patients who received medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits compared to just 17% of the medical treatment 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, incorporating these two forms of care can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic care and medical approaches can work together, chiropractic offers some unique strengths over medical therapy.

Where Chiropractic Pulls Ahead

Although it may seem as if each method 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 from 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 researchers, the main aspects that patients favored over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors typically spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as outlining more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Non-Invasive Approach

Without a doubt, the methods associated with chiropractic are quite different than those provided with medical therapy, but a great deal of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and well-being. In contrast to focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic involves searching for 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 managing certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach like chiropractic care. This means fewer negative side effects from drugs and longer-lasting recovery.

You don't have to suffer from back pain or other health issues. Give our San Angelo office a call today at (325) 223-9355. 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.