We see quite a few back pain patients in our Windsor practice, and Dr. Martin Stine has been able to provide many of them get relief with chiropractic care. However, recovering from back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many people use both types of care with great results.
In a study 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 soreness and limited function due to back symptoms. Some of the patients received treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder were given chiropractic adjustments in addition to standard medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which patients fared better.
Researchers found that the group that received standard medical care along with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the patients who received medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits in comparison to just 17% of the medical care 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.
Accordingly, combining these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic care and medicine can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some unique advantages over medical therapy.
Although it may seem as if each approach plays a 50-50 role, there is one significant advantage that chiropractic care has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a study done 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 those undergoing medical treatment.
According to the researchers, the main factors that patients favored over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't surprising, 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 outlining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic care.
Certainly, the methods associated with chiropractic are very different than those available with medical care, but a great deal of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and wellness. Rather than focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves finding the primary cause of your pain, which often translates to greater improvement as you are tackling the problem at its source.
In addition, 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 lasting recovery.
You don't have to struggle with back pain or other health issues. Give our Windsor office a call today at (970) 460-0168. We'll work to help you get and remain free from back pain.
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