Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see quite a few back pain patients in our Yakima practice, and Dr. Kroner has been able to help a lot of them get relief with chiropractic care. At the same time, dealing with back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical therapy, as many people use both types of care with great success.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well Together

In a study published by the academic journal Spine researchers¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who claimed both acute soreness and restricted function due to back-related issues. Some of the test subjects engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest were given chiropractic care in addition to regular medical care, as researchers wanted to determine which group fared better.

Researchers determined that the group that received standard medical care in combination with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the group that received medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits in comparison to just 17 percent of the medical treatment only group who reported 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 medical approaches can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some unique advantages over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Pulls Ahead

Although it might 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, a study conducted at 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 experts, the main aspects that patients favored over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't surprising, 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 thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Non-Invasive Approach

Certainly, the strategies associated with chiropractic are very different than those offered with medical care, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and wellness. Instead of focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic means searching for the primary 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 such as chiropractic. This means fewer negative responses to medications and lasting results.

You don't have to endure back pain or other health issues. Give our Yakima office a call today at (509) 972-4000. We'll do everything we can 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.