Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see quite a few back pain patients in our Parma, Middleburg Heights practice, and Baker Chiropractic Wellness Center has been able to provide many of them find relief with chiropractic care. 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 individuals utilize both types of care with great results.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care 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 reported both acute pain and limited function due to back pain. Some of the test subjects received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder received chiropractic care as well as regular medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which patients fared better.

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

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

Where Chiropractic Pulls Ahead

Although it may seem as if each approach plays a 50-50 role, there is one major advantage that chiropractic care has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a piece of research done at UCLA² that was published in the American Journal of Public Health found that, on average, chiropractic patients are generally more satisfied with their recovery than patients undergoing medical care.

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

Chiropractic Care Offers a Non-Invasive Approach

Without a doubt, the techniques associated with chiropractic are very different than those available with medical treatment, but a great deal of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and well-being. Instead of 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.

In addition, while medication is sometimes helpful for managing certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach like chiropractic. This means fewer negative responses to drugs and longer-lasting results.

You don't have to suffer from back pain or other health issues. Give our Parma, Middleburg Heights clinic a call today at (440) 888-6979. We'll work 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.