We see many back pain patients in our North County, St. Louis, MO office, and Dr. Mark Holland has been able to provide many of them get relief with chiropractic care. However, dealing with back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many individuals utilize both types of care with great success.
In a study published by the journal Spine experts1 looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who claimed both acute pain and restricted function due to back symptoms. Some of the test subjects engaged in treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder received chiropractic adjustments along with regular medical care, as researchers wanted to determine which patients fared better.
The authors observed that the group that received standard medical care in combination with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the group that received medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits compared to just 17% of the medical treatment only group who indicated 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 alongside each other, chiropractic offers some unique strengths over medical therapy.
Although it may seem as if each approach plays a 50-50 role, there is one major benefit that chiropractic care has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a study done 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 people undergoing medical care.
According to the researchers, the main aspects that patients favored over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors tend to spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as discussing more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic care.
Without a doubt, the strategies associated with chiropractic are quite different than those available 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 just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic means tracking down the root cause of your pain, which often translates to greater improvement as you are addressing the problem at its source.
In addition, 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 responses to drugs and more permanent results.
You don't have to suffer from back pain or other health issues. Give our North County, St. Louis, MO clinic a call today at (314) 867-8888. We'll work to help you get and continue to be 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.
