We see many back pain patients in our South Buffalo office, and Dr. Nowak has been able to help a lot of them find relief with chiropractic care. However, dealing with back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical therapy, as many individuals utilize both types of care with great success.
Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well with One Another
In a study published by the 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 pain. Some of the patients received treatment via standard medical care, while the rest were given chiropractic care in addition to standard medical care, as the authors wanted to see which group fared better.
The authors determined that the patients who got standard medical care combined with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the group that received 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 advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic and medicine can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some distinct advantages over medical therapy.
Where Chiropractic Care Is Successful
Although it may seem as if each approach 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 care.
According to the experts, the main factors that patients liked over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors frequently spend much more time advising 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 Is a Natural Approach to Wellness
Certainly, the strategies associated with chiropractic are very different than those offered with medical treatment, but a great deal of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and wellness. Instead of focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves tracking down the primary cause of your pain, which often results in 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 natural forms of treatment 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 South Buffalo clinic a call today at (716) 825-4121. We'll do everything we can to help you get and remain free from back pain.
References
- 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.
- 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.
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