Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see many patients with back pain in our Burke office, and Dr. Zapf has been able to help many of them find relief through various chiropractic techniques. However, 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 results.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Well with One Another

In a study published by the academic journal Spine experts¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who were suffering from both acute discomfort and limited function due to back-related issues. Some of the study participants engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest were given chiropractic care in addition to regular medical care, as researchers wanted to see which patients fared better.

Researchers determined that the group that got standard medical care combined with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the group that got 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 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 care and medical approaches can work together, chiropractic offers some unique advantages over medical therapy.

Where Chiropractic Care Is Successful

Although it might seem as if each approach plays a 50-50 role, there is one major advantage that chiropractic care has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a study conducted at 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 patients undergoing medical care.

According to the researchers, the main factors that patients liked over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't surprising, as chiropractors tend to 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 care.

Chiropractic Offers a Holistic Approach

Certainly, the methods associated with chiropractic are very different than those provided with medical treatment, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. Rather than focusing on only relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care means finding the root cause of your pain, which often translates to 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. This means fewer negative side effects from prescriptions and more permanent results.

You don't have to endure back pain or other health issues. Give our Burke office a call today at (703) 455-9555. 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.