Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see many people with back pain in our Sunnyvale & San Francisco, CA office, and Dr. Jamie Stern has been able to help a lot of them find relief through various chiropractic techniques. At the same time, 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.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment 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 discomfort and limited function due to back symptoms. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder were given chiropractic adjustments in addition to standard medical care, as researchers wanted to see which patients fared better.

The authors observed 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 compared 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.

Accordingly, integrating 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 distinct advantages over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Pulls Ahead

Although it may 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 commonly spend much more time consulting with their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as explaining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Offers a Holistic Approach

Without a doubt, the methods associated with chiropractic are quite different than those available with medical treatment, but a great deal of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. In contrast to focusing on only relieving the symptoms, chiropractic means searching for the primary cause of your pain, which often results in greater improvement as you are tackling the problem at its source.

In addition, while medication is sometimes helpful for managing certain conditions, many health issues respond well to natural forms of treatment like chiropractic. This means fewer negative side effects from drugs and more permanent results.

You don't have to struggle with back pain or other health issues. Give our Sunnyvale & San Francisco, CA office a call today at (415) 308-7636. 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.