We see quite a few people with back pain in our St. Louis, MO practice, and Dr. Holland has helped a lot of them get relief with chiropractic care. However, dealing with back problems 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 report published by the medical 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 study participants received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder were given chiropractic care together with standard medical care, as researchers wanted to see which group fared better.
Researchers found that the group that got standard medical care in combination with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the group that received medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits in comparison to just 17 percent 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.
Therefore, integrating 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 alongside each other, chiropractic offers some distinct advantages over medical therapy.
Although it might seem as if each method plays a 50-50 role, there is one significant advantage that chiropractic care has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a piece of research 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 patients undergoing medical care.
According to the researchers, the main aspects that patients liked over medical care 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 discussing more carefully what to expect from chiropractic care.
Certainly, the strategies associated with chiropractic are quite different than those available with medical therapy, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and well-being. In contrast to focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic means searching for the primary cause of your pain, which often results in greater improvement as you are tackling the problem at its source.
Additionally, while medication is sometimes helpful for managing certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach like chiropractic. This means fewer negative side effects from medications and lasting results.
You don't have to endure back pain or other health issues. Give our St. Louis, MO office a call today at (314) 588-9100. We'll do our best to help you get and remain free from back pain.
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We have a long-standing track record or helping people get out of pain with chiropractic care. Whether you were injured last week, or have been suffering from chronic pain for years - It might only take one visit to our office in Downtown Saint Louis, MO to get you back on the path to everyday health.
