Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see a number of people with back pain in our Depew / Lancaster practice, and Dr. William Palmer has been able to provide many of them find relief with chiropractic care. However, dealing with back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to decide 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 study published by the 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 soreness and restricted function due to back pain. Some of the patients received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder received chiropractic adjustments together with standard medical care, as researchers wanted to determine which group fared better.

The authors found that the group that received standard medical care combined with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the group that got 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 two and four weeks.

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

Where Chiropractic Pulls Ahead

Although it might seem as if each method plays a 50/50 role, there is one significant benefit that chiropractic care has over medical care 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 found that, on average, chiropractic patients are generally more satisfied with their recovery than people undergoing medical care.

According to the researchers, the main aspects that patients preferred over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors commonly spend much more time consulting with their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as discussing more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Holistic Approach

Without a doubt, 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 holistic approach to health and well-being. Instead of focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic means tracking down the root cause of your pain, which often translates to 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 a natural approach like chiropractic care. This means fewer negative responses to medications and more permanent recovery.

You don't have to endure back pain or other health issues. Give our Depew / Lancaster clinic a call today at (716) 668-2225. We'll work 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.