We see a number of people with back pain in our Noblesville office, and Dr. Dahlager has helped many of them find relief with chiropractic care. At the same time, dealing with back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many people utilize both types of care with great success.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Well with One Another

In a report published by the academic journal Spine investigators¹ 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 patients received treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder received chiropractic adjustments as well as regular medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which patients fared better.

Researchers discovered that the patients who got standard medical care in combination with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the patients who received medical care alone; 73% 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 two and four weeks.

Thus, incorporating these two forms of care can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic care and medicine can work together, chiropractic offers some distinct advantages over medical therapy.

Where Chiropractic Pulls Ahead

Although it may seem as if each method plays a 50/50 role, there is one significant advantage that chiropractic has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, one bit of research from 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 researchers, the main aspects 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 advising their patients as to how they can improve their health on their own, as well as discussing more carefully what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Certainly, the methods associated with chiropractic are very different than those available with medical therapy, but a great deal of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. In contrast to focusing on only relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves finding the root 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 like chiropractic care. 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 Noblesville clinic a call today at (317) 214-7218. We'll do everything we can 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.