Effective Back Pain Treatment

Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see quite a few patients with back pain in our Lenexa office, and Dr. Isom has been able to help a lot of them find relief with chiropractic care. At the same time, recovering from back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many individuals utilize both types of care with great outcomes.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well with One Another

In a study 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 engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder were given chiropractic adjustments in addition to standard medical care, as the authors wanted to see which patients fared better.

Researchers 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 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.

Accordingly, incorporating these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering benefits when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic and medical approaches can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some unique strengths over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Wins

Although it may seem as if each approach plays a 50/50 role, there is one significant benefit that chiropractic care 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 reports that, on average, chiropractic patients are generally more satisfied with their recovery than those undergoing medical care.

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

Chiropractic Care Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Without a doubt, the strategies associated with chiropractic are quite different than those provided with medical treatment, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. In contrast to focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves searching for the primary cause of your pain, which often results in greater improvement as you are tackling 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 side effects from medications and longer-lasting recovery.

You don't have to deal with back pain or other health issues. Give our Lenexa clinic a call today at (913) 735-9565. 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.