Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see many people with back pain in our Mauldin office, and Dr. Izquierdo has been able to help a lot of them get relief with chiropractic care. However, recovering from back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical therapy, as many individuals use both types of care with great results.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well with Each Other

In a report published by the medical journal Spine experts¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who reported both acute soreness and limited function due to back symptoms. Some of the patients received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder were given chiropractic adjustments together with standard medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which patients fared better.

The authors found that the patients who got standard medical care along with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the group that received medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits compared 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 care and medicine can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some unique advantages over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Is Successful

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 reports that, on average, chiropractic patients are generally more satisfied with their recovery than patients undergoing medical treatment.

According to the experts, the main aspects that patients preferred over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors tend to 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.

Chiropractic Offers a Non-Invasive Approach

Certainly, the techniques associated with chiropractic are very different than those provided with medical therapy, but a large amount of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. Rather than focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves searching for the root cause of your pain, which often means 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 like chiropractic care. This means fewer negative responses to medications and longer-lasting results.

You don't have to deal with back pain or other health issues. Give our Mauldin office a call today at (864) 627-4325. We'll do our best 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.