Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see a number of people with back pain in our Memphis office, and Dynamic Chiropractic has been able to help many of them get relief with chiropractic. At the same time, dealing with back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical care, as many individuals use both types of care with great results.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well 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 were suffering from both acute discomfort and restricted function due to back-related issues. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder were given chiropractic care in addition to standard medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which patients fared better.

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

Where Chiropractic Care Pulls Ahead

Although it may seem as if each approach plays a 50-50 role, there is one major benefit that chiropractic care 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 reports that, on average, chiropractic patients are generally more satisfied with their recovery than people undergoing medical treatment.

According to the researchers, the main factors that patients preferred over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't surprising, as chiropractors typically spend much more time consulting with their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as discussing more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Holistic Approach

Certainly, the techniques associated with chiropractic are very different than those provided with medical treatment, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and wellness. Instead of focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic involves finding the primary 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 treating certain conditions, many health issues respond well to natural forms of treatment such as chiropractic care. This means fewer negative side effects from drugs and lasting results.

You don't have to struggle with back pain or other health problems. Give our Memphis office a call today at (901) 757-8311. 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.