We see a number of people with back pain in our St. Louis, MO practice, and Dr. Holland has been able to help many of them get relief with chiropractic. At the same time, recovering from back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many people utilize both types of care with great success.
In a report published by the journal Spine experts1 looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who reported both acute soreness and limited function due to back symptoms. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest received chiropractic adjustments along with standard medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which group 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 percent reported positive benefits compared 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 alongside each other, chiropractic offers some unique strengths over medical treatment.
Although it may seem as if each approach plays a 50-50 role, there is one major benefit that chiropractic care has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a piece of research conducted at UCLA2 that was published in the American Journal of Public Health found that, on average, chiropractic patients are generally more satisfied with their recovery than patients undergoing medical treatment.
According to the experts, the main factors that patients preferred over medical care 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 thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.
Without a doubt, the techniques associated with chiropractic are very different than those available with medical treatment, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and wellness. In contrast to focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic involves tracking down the root cause of your pain, which often translates to greater improvement as you are addressing the problem at its source.
Additionally, while medication is sometimes helpful for managing certain conditions, many health issues respond well to natural forms of treatment like chiropractic. This means fewer negative responses to prescriptions and longer-lasting recovery.
You don't have to suffer from back pain or other health problems. Give our St. Louis, MO clinic a call today at (314) 588-9100. We'll do everything we can to help you get and continue to be free from back pain.
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We have a long-standing track record or helping people get out of pain with chiropractic care. Whether you were injured last week, or have been suffering from chronic pain for years - It might only take one visit to our office in Downtown Saint Louis, MO to get you back on the path to everyday health.
