Back Pain Recovery with Chiropractic Therapy

We see quite a few patients with back pain in our Estero, Bonita Springs office, and Dr. Green has been able to help many of them obtain relief with chiropractic care. However, recovering from back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical treatment, 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 academic 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 restricted function due to back symptoms. Some of the study participants engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder were given chiropractic therapy together with regular medical care, as the authors wanted to see which group fared better.

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

Therefore, combining 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 unique advantages over medical therapy.

Where Chiropractic Care Succeeds

Although it might seem as if each method plays a 50/50 role, there is one significant advantage that chiropractic care 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 reports 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 liked over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors tend to spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can improve their health on their own, as well as outlining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Non-Invasive Approach to Wellness

Without a doubt, the methods associated with chiropractic are quite different than those available with medical care, but a great deal 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 care involves searching for 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 treating certain conditions, many health issues respond well to natural forms of treatment such as chiropractic. This means fewer negative responses to prescriptions and more permanent results.

You don't have to struggle with back pain or other health issues. Give our Estero, Bonita Springs clinic a call today at (239) 495-1166. We'll do our best 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.