Chiropractic and Medical Care: An Effective Combination

We see many patients with back pain in our Capitol Hill, Washington DC practice, and Dr. Moses Ogbemudia has been able to help a lot of them get relief with chiropractic. At the same time, recovering from back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical care, as many people use both types of care with great outcomes.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Well with One Another

In a report published by the journal Spine investigators¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who claimed both acute pain and limited function due to back-related issues. Some of the study participants engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder were given chiropractic care in addition to standard medical care, as researchers wanted to see which patients fared better.

Researchers determined that the patients who got 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.

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

Where Chiropractic Care Is Successful

Although it might seem as if each method plays a 50-50 role, there is one significant benefit that chiropractic care has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a study from UCLA² that was published 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 factors that patients favored over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors commonly spend much more time consulting with their patients as to how they can improve their health on their own, as well as discussing more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Non-Invasive Approach

Certainly, the techniques associated with chiropractic are quite different than those available with medical care, but a great deal of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and wellness. In contrast to focusing on only relieving the symptoms, chiropractic involves searching for the root cause of your pain, which often results in greater improvement as you are addressing the problem at its source.

Additionally, while medication is sometimes helpful for treating certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach like chiropractic care. This means fewer negative responses to prescriptions and more permanent results.

You don't have to deal with back pain or other health issues. Give our Capitol Hill, Washington DC office a call today at (202) 546-2000. We'll do our best to help you get and stay 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.