Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see a number of patients with back pain in our Lincoln practice, and Dr. Jerrad Swanson DC, FMT, DN1 has been able to help a lot of them get relief with chiropractic. At the same time, recovering from 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 Treatment Work Well with One Another

In a study published by the journal Spine experts¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who claimed both acute soreness and limited function due to back-related issues. Some of the patients engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest received chiropractic adjustments as well as standard medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which patients fared better.

Researchers found that the group that got standard medical care along with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the patients who got medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits compared to just 17 percent 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.

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

Where Chiropractic Care Wins

Although it may seem as if each method plays a 50-50 role, there is one significant advantage that chiropractic care has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a piece 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 care.

According to the experts, the main factors that patients favored over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors typically spend much more time consulting with their patients as to how they can improve their health on their own, as well as outlining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Certainly, the techniques 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 natural approach to health and well-being. Rather than focusing on only relieving the symptoms, chiropractic means tracking down the primary cause of your pain, which often results in 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 such as chiropractic. This means fewer negative side effects from drugs and longer-lasting results.

You don't have to endure back pain or other health problems. Give our Lincoln clinic a call today at (402) 484-5177. 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.