Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see many back pain patients in our Plainview office, and Dr. DeRiggi has been able to help many of them get relief through various chiropractic techniques. However, recovering from back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many individuals use both types of care with great outcomes.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well Together

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 claimed both acute discomfort and limited function due to back-related issues. Some of the study participants engaged in treatment via standard medical care, while the rest were given chiropractic adjustments in addition to regular medical care, as the authors wanted to see which group fared better.

Researchers observed that the group that got standard medical care combined with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the patients who received medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits compared to just 17% of the medical care only group who indicated the same amount of improvement. This was true regarding both pain and level of function at two and four weeks.

Thus, incorporating these two forms of treatment 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 might seem as if each method plays a 50/50 role, there is one major benefit that chiropractic has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a piece of research from UCLA² that was published in the American Journal of Public Health reports 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 liked over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors typically spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as outlining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Certainly, the strategies associated with chiropractic are quite different than those offered with medical therapy, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. Rather than focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves finding the root 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 treating certain conditions, many health issues respond well to natural forms of treatment like chiropractic. This means fewer negative side effects from medications and longer-lasting results.

You don't have to struggle with back pain or other health issues. Give our Plainview office a call today at (516) 933-1034. 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.