Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see quite a few people with back pain in our West New York office, and Dr. Marsh has been able to help a lot of them find relief with chiropractic care and osteopathic treatments. 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.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well with One Another

In a report 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 limited function due to back-related issues. Some of the test subjects received treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder were given chiropractic adjustments in addition to regular medical care, as researchers wanted to see which patients fared better.

Researchers determined that the patients who got standard medical care combined with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the group that received medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits compared to just 17 percent of the medical treatment 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, combining these two forms of care 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 unique strengths over medical therapy.

Where Chiropractic Care Wins

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

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 frequently spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can improve their health on their own, as well as explaining more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Certainly, the methods associated with chiropractic are very different than those offered with medical therapy, but a great deal of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. Rather than focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic means finding the root cause of your pain, which often translates to 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 more permanent results.

You don't have to suffer from back pain or other health issues. Give our West New York office a call today at (201) 869-0830. We'll do everything we can to help you get and stay 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.