We see many back pain patients in our Fargo office, and Balance Chiropractic & Rehab has been able to provide a lot of them find relief through various chiropractic techniques. 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 outcomes.
In a report published by the medical journal Spine experts1 looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who claimed both acute discomfort and limited function due to back symptoms. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder received chiropractic adjustments in addition to standard medical care, as the authors wanted to see which patients fared better.
Researchers found that the patients who received standard medical care along with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the patients who received medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits in comparison to just 17 percent of the medical care only group who reported the same amount of improvement. This was true regarding both pain and level of function at two and four weeks.
Thus, integrating these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic and medical approaches can work together, chiropractic offers some distinct strengths over medical therapy.
Although it might seem as if each approach plays a 50/50 role, there is one major benefit that chiropractic care has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, one bit of research done 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 people undergoing medical treatment.
According to the experts, the main aspects that patients preferred over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors commonly spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can improve their health on their own, as well as outlining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic.
Certainly, the strategies associated with chiropractic are very different than those provided with medical care, but a great deal of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and wellness. Instead of focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves tracking down the primary cause of your pain, which often means greater improvement as you are tackling the problem at its source.
In addition, 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 prescriptions and more permanent results.
You don't have to deal with back pain or other health issues. Give our Fargo office a call today at (701) 893-7878. We'll work to help you get and remain free from back pain.
References
Dr. Daniel Pozarnsky
Dr. Pozarnsky is in Private practice as a Chiropractic Physician at Balance Chiropractic and Rehab in West Fargo, ND. He specializes in auto and work injury cases as well as general neck and back pain cases. He is an occupational health consultant for large corporations in the West Fargo ND area, and a physical rehab consultant for Doctors, Physical Therapists, Athletic Trainers, Personal Trainers, and Fitness Coaches.