Back Pain Recovery with Chiropractic Treatment

We see a number of people with back pain in our Decatur office, and Dr. Harrison has been able to help many of them get relief through various chiropractic techniques. At the same time, dealing with 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 results.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Well with One Another

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 discomfort and restricted function due to back symptoms. Some of the patients received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest received chiropractic treatment together with standard medical care, as researchers wanted to see which group fared better.

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

Therefore, combining these two forms of care can greatly benefit you, the patient, offering benefits when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic and medicine can work together, chiropractic offers some unique strengths over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Succeeds

Although it might seem as if each approach plays a 50-50 role, there is one major benefit that chiropractic has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, one bit of research 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 care.

According to the researchers, the main factors that patients preferred over medical treatment 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 improve their health on their own, as well as discussing more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Offers a Holistic Approach to Wellness

Certainly, the strategies associated with chiropractic are very different than those offered with medical care, but a great deal of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. Instead of focusing on only relieving the symptoms, chiropractic involves finding the primary 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 treating certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach such as chiropractic care. This means fewer negative side effects from prescriptions and lasting results.

You don't have to endure back pain or other health problems. Give our Decatur clinic a call today at (404) 325-2856. We'll do everything we can 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.