Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see many people with back pain in our Tumwater practice, and Dr. Harrell has been able to help 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 care, as many people utilize both types of care with great results.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well with Each Other

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 reported both acute discomfort and restricted function due to back pain. Some of the patients engaged in treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder were given chiropractic adjustments in addition to regular medical care, as researchers wanted to see which patients fared better.

Researchers observed that the group that received standard medical care along with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the group that received medical care alone; 73% 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, incorporating 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 strengths over medical therapy.

Where Chiropractic Care Is Successful

Although it may seem as if each method plays a 50/50 role, there is one significant benefit that chiropractic has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, one bit of research conducted 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 people undergoing medical treatment.

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

Chiropractic Care Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

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

Furthermore, 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 responses to medications and more permanent results.

You don't have to deal with back pain or other health problems. Give our Tumwater office a call today at (360) 489-0635. We'll do our best 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.