Chiropractic Treatment & Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see several patients with back pain in our Arlington practice, and Jefferson Spine & Injury Center has been able to help many of them get relief through various chiropractic techniques. However, dealing with back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical care, as many people utilize both types of care with great results.

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 reported both acute soreness and restricted function due to back symptoms. Some of the patients engaged in treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder received chiropractic therapy in addition to regular medical care, as the authors wanted to see which patients fared better.

The authors found that the patients who got standard medical care along with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the patients who received medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits in comparison 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.

Therefore, incorporating 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 alongside each other, chiropractic offers some unique strengths over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Is Successful

Although it may seem as if each method plays a 50/50 role, there is one significant advantage that chiropractic has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, one bit of research 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 people undergoing medical treatment.

According to the researchers, the main aspects 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 consulting with their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as discussing more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Natural Approach to Wellness

Without a doubt, the techniques associated with chiropractic are very different than those offered with medical therapy, but a great deal 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 primary cause of your pain, which often translates to 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 responses to prescriptions and more permanent recovery.

You don't have to deal with back pain or other health issues. Give our Arlington office a call today at (703) 933-9000. 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.