Back Pain Recovery with Chiropractic Therapy

We see many people with back pain in our Hazleton and Conyngham practice, and Eyerly Chiropractic Offices has been able to help a lot of them get relief with chiropractic care. However, dealing with back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical care, as many individuals utilize both types of care with great success.

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 claimed both acute pain and limited function due to back symptoms. Some of the study participants engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder were given chiropractic therapy as well as regular medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which patients fared better.

Researchers determined that the patients who got standard medical care along with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the patients who got medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits compared to just 17% 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.

Accordingly, incorporating these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you, the patient, offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic care and medicine can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some distinct strengths 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, one bit of research conducted at UCLA² that was printed in the American Journal of Public Health found that, on average, chiropractic patients are generally more satisfied with their recovery than those undergoing medical treatment.

According to the researchers, the main factors that patients favored over medical care 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 outlining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Offers a Non-Invasive Approach to Wellness

Without a doubt, the methods associated with chiropractic are quite different than those available with medical care, but a great deal of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and well-being. In contrast to focusing on only relieving the symptoms, chiropractic involves finding the primary cause of your pain, which often means 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 care. This means fewer negative responses to medications and longer-lasting results.

You don't have to suffer from back pain or other health issues. Give our Hazleton and Conyngham office a call today at (570) 455-5822. 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.