Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see many patients with back pain in our Hazleton, Conyngham practice, and Dr. Terrance Eyerly has been able to provide a lot of them get relief with chiropractic care. However, recovering from back problems 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 outcomes.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Well with Each Other

In a report published by the journal Spine researchers¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who claimed both acute pain and restricted function due to back-related issues. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest were given chiropractic care in addition to standard medical care, as the authors wanted to see which group fared better.

The authors discovered that the patients who received standard medical care in combination with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the group that got medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits in comparison to just 17% of the medical treatment only group who reported the same amount of improvement. This was true regarding both pain and level of function at the two- and four-week marks.

Thus, integrating these two forms of care can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering benefits when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic and medical approaches can work together, chiropractic offers some distinct strengths over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Wins

Although it might seem as if each approach plays a 50-50 role, there is one major advantage that chiropractic care has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, one bit of research conducted at 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 people undergoing medical treatment.

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 frequently spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can improve their health on their own, as well as explaining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Certainly, the strategies associated with chiropractic are quite different than those offered with medical therapy, but a great deal of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and wellness. In contrast to focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves tracking down 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 like chiropractic care. This means fewer negative responses to prescriptions and longer-lasting recovery.

You don't have to struggle with back pain or other health issues. Give our Hazleton, Conyngham office a call today at (570) 455-5822. We'll do our best 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.