Chiropractic Treatment Effective for Back Pain

We see quite a few people with back pain in our Holtsville office, and Dr. Cohen has been able to help many of them get relief with chiropractic care. At the same time, dealing with back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical care, as many individuals use both types of care with great success.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well with One Another

In a report published by the journal Spine experts¹ 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 engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder were given chiropractic therapy in addition to regular medical care, as researchers wanted to determine which group fared better.

The authors found that the patients who got standard medical care in combination with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the group that received medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits in comparison to just 17 percent of the medical treatment only group who indicated the same amount of improvement. This was true regarding both pain and level of function at two and four weeks.

Thus, combining these two forms of care 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 distinct strengths over medical therapy.

Where Chiropractic Care Pulls Ahead

Although it may seem as if each approach plays a 50/50 role, there is one significant benefit that chiropractic has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a study from 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 those undergoing medical treatment.

According to the experts, the main aspects that patients liked over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't surprising, as chiropractors tend to spend much more time consulting with their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as explaining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Natural Approach to Wellness

Without a doubt, the techniques associated with chiropractic are quite different than those offered with medical care, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and well-being. In contrast to focusing on only relieving the symptoms, chiropractic involves finding the primary 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 natural forms of treatment like chiropractic care. This means fewer negative responses to prescriptions and more permanent results.

You don't have to endure back pain or other health problems. Give our Holtsville clinic a call today at (631) 360-7999. 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.