Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see quite a few patients with back pain in our New York practice, and Frank J. Valente, DC, PC has helped a lot of them get relief with chiropractic. However, recovering from back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many people 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 journal Spine researchers¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who reported both acute pain and limited function due to back symptoms. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder were given chiropractic adjustments as well as regular medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which patients fared better.

Researchers determined that the patients who got standard medical care along with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the patients who received medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits compared 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 two and four weeks.

Thus, integrating these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering benefits 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 Wins

Although it may seem as if each method plays a 50/50 role, there is one significant advantage that chiropractic has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a study done 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 people 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 consulting with their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as explaining more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Holistic Approach

Certainly, the methods associated with chiropractic are very different than those offered with medical therapy, but a large amount of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. In contrast to focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic means tracking down the primary cause of your pain, which often translates to greater improvement as you are tackling 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. This means fewer negative responses to prescriptions and longer-lasting results.

You don't have to deal with back pain or other health issues. Give our New York office a call today at (917) 338-7917. We'll work 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.