Effective Back Pain Treatment

Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see a number of back pain patients in our Lincoln office, and Dr. Jerrad Swanson DC, FMT, DN1 has been able to help many 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 people utilize both types of care with great outcomes.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well Together

In a report published by the academic journal Spine experts¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who reported both acute soreness and limited function due to back pain. Some of the test subjects engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder received chiropractic care as well as regular medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which group fared better.

The authors determined that the group that got standard medical care in combination with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the patients who got medical care alone; 73% 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 two and four weeks.

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

Where Chiropractic Care Is Successful

Although it may seem as if each method plays a 50-50 role, there is one major advantage 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 found 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 favored over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors tend to spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as discussing more carefully what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Without a doubt, the techniques associated with chiropractic are very different than those offered with medical care, but a large amount of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and well-being. In contrast to focusing on only relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves finding the root cause of your pain, which often means greater improvement as you are addressing 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 more permanent recovery.

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