Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see many patients with back pain in our Stacy practice, and Dr. Ulvin has been able to help many of them find relief with chiropractic care. However, recovering from back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical therapy, as many people utilize both types of care with great results.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Well with Each Other

In a study published by the medical journal Spine researchers¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who claimed both acute soreness and restricted function due to back symptoms. Some of the study participants engaged in treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder received chiropractic care along with regular medical care, as researchers wanted to see which group fared better.

The authors observed that the patients who got standard medical care in combination with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the patients who got 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 care can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic care and medicine can work together, chiropractic offers some distinct advantages over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Is Successful

Although it may seem as if each approach plays a 50-50 role, there is one major benefit that chiropractic care has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, one bit of research from 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 researchers, the main aspects that patients liked over medical treatment 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 improve their health on their own, as well as outlining more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

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

Additionally, while medication is sometimes helpful for managing certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach like chiropractic care. This means fewer negative responses to medications and more permanent results.

You don't have to deal with back pain or other health issues. Give our Stacy office a call today at (651) 462-3243. We'll do everything we can 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.