Chiropractic Care Effective for Back Pain

We see several people with back pain in our Las Vegas office, and Dr. Forsyth has been able to help many of them obtain relief through various chiropractic techniques. However, recovering from back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical care, as many people use both types of care with great success.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well Together

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 were suffering from both acute discomfort and limited function due to back pain. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder were given chiropractic care in addition to standard medical care, as researchers wanted to see which group fared better.

The authors observed that the group that got standard medical care combined with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the group that got medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits compared to just 17 percent of the medical treatment 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, combining these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you, the patient, offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic and medical approaches can work together, chiropractic offers some unique strengths over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Wins

Although it might seem as if each approach plays a 50-50 role, there is one significant advantage 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 found 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 preferred over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors commonly spend much more time consulting with their patients as to how they can improve their health on their own, as well as discussing more carefully what to expect from chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Holistic Approach to Wellness

Without a doubt, the techniques associated with chiropractic are quite different than those provided with medical care, but a great deal of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and wellness. Instead of focusing on only relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves finding the root cause of your pain, which often translates to greater improvement as you are addressing the problem at its source.

Additionally, 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 drugs and more permanent recovery.

You don't have to suffer from back pain or other health problems. Give our Las Vegas office a call today at (702) 722-2225. We'll do everything we can to help you get and continue to be 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.