Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see quite a few back pain patients in our Tucson practice, and Dr. Conlee has been able to help many of them find 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 use both types of care with great results.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Well Together

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 were suffering from both acute pain and restricted function due to back pain. Some of the test subjects engaged in treatment via standard medical care, while the rest received chiropractic care in addition to standard medical care, as researchers wanted to see which patients fared better.

Researchers determined that the group that received standard medical care in combination with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the patients who received medical care alone; 73 percent 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 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 unique advantages over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Is Successful

Although it may seem as if each approach plays a 50/50 role, there is one significant benefit that chiropractic care has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a study from 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 care.

According to the researchers, the main aspects that patients favored over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't surprising, as chiropractors commonly spend much more time consulting with their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as explaining more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Non-Invasive Approach

Without a doubt, the strategies associated with chiropractic are very different than those provided with medical care, but a great deal of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. Instead of focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic involves tracking down the root 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 natural forms of treatment like chiropractic care. This means fewer negative side effects from prescriptions and more permanent results.

You don't have to suffer from back pain or other health issues. Give our Tucson clinic a call today at (520) 322-6161. We'll do our best 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.