Chiropractic Treatment and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see several back pain patients in our Parkland practice, and Dr. Scharf has been able to help many of them get relief through various chiropractic techniques. However, recovering from back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical therapy, as many people use both types of care with great success.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Well with One Another

In a report published by the academic journal Spine investigators¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who reported both acute discomfort and limited function due to back symptoms. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest were given chiropractic adjustments together with standard medical care, as researchers wanted to determine which group fared better.

The authors determined that the patients who got standard medical care combined with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the patients who got medical care alone; 73 percent 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, 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 medical approaches can work together, chiropractic offers some unique advantages over medical therapy.

Where Chiropractic Care Pulls Ahead

Although it might seem as if each approach plays a 50/50 role, there is one major advantage that chiropractic has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, one bit of research from UCLA² that was published in the American Journal of Public Health found 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 care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors frequently 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.

Chiropractic Offers a Non-Invasive Approach to Wellness

Certainly, the techniques associated with chiropractic are very different than those provided with medical care, but a large amount 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 finding the root cause of your pain, which often translates to greater improvement as you are tackling the problem at its source.

Additionally, 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 medications and lasting results.

You don't have to struggle with back pain or other health problems. Give our Parkland office a call today at (954) 227-0088. We'll do everything we can to help you get and remain 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.