Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see a number of back pain patients in our Arlington office, and Dr. Ernst has been able to help many of them find relief with chiropractic. However, recovering from back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many people use both types of care with great success.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Well with Each Other

In a report published by the journal Spine researchers¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who were suffering from both acute soreness and restricted function due to back pain. Some of the test subjects received treatment via standard medical care, while the rest were given chiropractic care in addition to standard medical care, as researchers wanted to see which group fared better.

The authors observed that the patients who received standard medical care combined with chiropractic 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.

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

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 care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, one bit of research done at 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 those undergoing medical treatment.

According to the researchers, the main aspects that patients preferred over medical care 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 better their health on their own, as well as discussing more carefully what to expect from chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Non-Invasive Approach

Without a doubt, the techniques associated with chiropractic are quite different than those offered with medical treatment, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. In contrast to focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic involves searching for the primary cause of your pain, which often means greater improvement as you are tackling the problem at its source.

Additionally, while medication is sometimes helpful for managing certain conditions, many health issues respond well to natural forms of treatment such as chiropractic care. This means fewer negative side effects from prescriptions and more permanent recovery.

You don't have to suffer from back pain or other health problems. Give our Arlington clinic a call today at (360) 659-8464. 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.