Juneau, AK back pain treatmentWe see quite a few people with back pain in our Juneau, AK office, and Dr. Messerschmidt has been able to provide many of them find relief with chiropractic care. However, dealing with back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical therapy, as many individuals utilize both types of care with great results.

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 claimed both acute soreness and restricted function due to back-related issues. Some of the test subjects received treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder received chiropractic adjustments along with standard medical care, as the authors wanted to see which group fared better.

The authors found that the patients who got standard medical care in combination with chiropractic 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 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, integrating 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 together, chiropractic offers some unique strengths over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Pulls Ahead

Although it might seem as if each approach 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 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 experts, the main factors that patients preferred over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't surprising, as chiropractors frequently spend much more time consulting with their patients as to how they can improve their health on their own, as well as outlining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Care Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Certainly, the methods associated with chiropractic are very different than those offered with medical therapy, but a great deal 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 care involves finding the primary cause of your pain, which often means greater improvement as you are tackling the problem at its source.

Additionally, while medication is sometimes helpful for treating certain conditions, many health issues respond well to natural forms of treatment such as chiropractic. This means fewer negative side effects from medications and longer-lasting results.

You don't have to suffer from back pain or other health issues. Give our Juneau, AK clinic a call today at (907) 789-1344. We'll work to help you get and continue to be 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.
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