Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see quite a few patients with back pain in our San Angelo practice, and Dr. Pittman has been able to help many of them get relief through various chiropractic techniques. However, dealing with back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many individuals utilize 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 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 pain. Some of the patients received treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder were given chiropractic care as well as regular medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which patients fared better.

The authors determined that the group that received 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% of the medical care only group who indicated the same amount of improvement. This was true regarding both pain and level of function at two and four weeks.

Thus, integrating these two forms of care can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering benefits when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic care and medicine can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some unique advantages over medical therapy.

Where Chiropractic Care Wins

Although it may seem as if each method plays a 50/50 role, there is one significant benefit that chiropractic care has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a piece of research conducted 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 those undergoing medical care.

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

Chiropractic Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Certainly, the techniques associated with chiropractic are very different than those provided with medical care, but a great deal of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and wellness. Rather than focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care means searching for the root cause of your pain, which often translates to greater improvement as you are tackling 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 side effects from medications and more permanent results.

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