Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see many back pain patients in our Corvallis practice, and Dr. Lach has been able to help a lot of them get relief through various chiropractic techniques. At the same time, dealing with back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical therapy, as many people utilize both types of care with great success.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Well Together

In a report 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 limited function due to back symptoms. Some of the test subjects engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest received chiropractic adjustments together with standard medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which group fared better.

Researchers determined that the group that received standard medical care in combination with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the group that received medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits compared to just 17% of the medical care 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.

Therefore, combining these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic care and medical approaches can work together, chiropractic offers some distinct advantages over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Pulls Ahead

Although it might 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, one bit of research from 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 liked over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't surprising, as chiropractors frequently spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as outlining more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Non-Invasive Approach

Without a doubt, the strategies associated with chiropractic are quite different than those provided with medical therapy, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and wellness. In contrast to focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic means searching for the root cause of your pain, which often results in greater improvement as you are addressing the problem at its source.

Additionally, while medication is sometimes helpful for managing certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach such as chiropractic care. This means fewer negative responses to medications and lasting recovery.

You don't have to deal with back pain or other health issues. Give our Corvallis office a call today at (541) 754-1947. 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.