Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see many patients with back pain in our Port Coquitlam practice, and Northside Chiropractic has been able to help a lot of them get relief through various chiropractic techniques. However, dealing with back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical care, as many individuals utilize both types of care with great outcomes.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well Together

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 reported both acute pain and restricted function due to back symptoms. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest were given chiropractic care along with standard medical care, as researchers wanted to see which group fared better.

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

Accordingly, integrating these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering benefits when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic care and medicine can work together, chiropractic offers some unique strengths 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 benefit that chiropractic has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a study 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 people undergoing medical treatment.

According to the experts, the main factors that patients favored over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't surprising, as chiropractors tend to spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as discussing more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Without a doubt, the methods associated with chiropractic are very different than those available with medical treatment, but a large amount of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and well-being. Rather than focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care means 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 a natural approach like 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 Port Coquitlam clinic a call today at (604) 941-4596. We'll do our best 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.