Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see quite a few patients with back pain in our Jacksonville practice, and Chanatry Chiropractic has been able to help a lot of them get relief with chiropractic care. However, recovering from back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical therapy, as many individuals use both types of care with great results.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well Together

In a study published by the medical journal Spine experts¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who claimed both acute pain and restricted function due to back-related issues. Some of the test subjects received treatment via standard medical care, while the rest were given chiropractic adjustments along with regular medical care, as the authors wanted to see which group fared better.

Researchers found that the patients who received standard medical care along with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the patients who received medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits in comparison 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.

Thus, 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 treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Pulls Ahead

Although it might seem as if each approach plays a 50-50 role, there is one significant benefit that chiropractic care has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, one bit of research from UCLA² that was published 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 researchers, the main aspects that patients preferred 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 improve their health on their own, as well as explaining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Offers a Holistic Approach

Certainly, the methods associated with chiropractic are very different than those provided with medical care, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and wellness. In contrast to focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic means searching for the root cause of your pain, which often means greater improvement as you are tackling the problem at its source.

Furthermore, 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 drugs and lasting results.

You don't have to endure back pain or other health problems. Give our Jacksonville office a call today at (904) 743-6700. 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.