Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see many back pain patients in our Henderson, NV practice, and Dr. Russell and Dr. Janda has been able to provide a lot 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 treatment, as many individuals utilize both types of care with great success.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Well with One Another

In a study published by the academic journal Spine researchers¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who reported both acute pain and restricted function due to back pain. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder received chiropractic adjustments in addition to standard medical care, as the authors wanted to see which group fared better.

The authors discovered that the patients who received standard medical care in combination with chiropractic 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 reported the same amount of improvement. This was true regarding both pain and level of function at the two- and four-week marks.

Accordingly, incorporating these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering benefits when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic and medical approaches can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some unique strengths over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Wins

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 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 care.

According to the researchers, the main aspects that patients favored over medical treatment 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 improve their health on their own, as well as explaining more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Holistic Approach

Without a doubt, the strategies associated with chiropractic are quite different than those provided with medical care, but a great deal of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and well-being. Rather than focusing on just 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 natural forms of treatment such as chiropractic. This means fewer negative side effects from drugs and longer-lasting recovery.

You don't have to endure back pain or other health issues. Give our Henderson, NV clinic a call today at (702) 990-2225. 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.