Effective Back Pain Treatment

We see a number of people with back pain in our Waldorf, MD practice, and Dr. Lipsitz has been able to help a lot of them find relief with chiropractic care. At the same time, recovering from back problems 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 Together

In a study published by the academic journal Spine researchers¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who reported both acute pain and limited function due to back symptoms. Some of the patients engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder received chiropractic care in addition to regular medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which group fared better.

Researchers observed that the group that got standard medical care in combination with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the group that got medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits compared 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.

Thus, combining these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering benefits when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic and medicine can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some distinct strengths over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Pulls Ahead

Although it might seem as if each approach plays a 50-50 role, there is one major advantage that chiropractic has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a piece of research done at 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 experts, the main factors that patients preferred over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors frequently spend much more time consulting with 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.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Holistic Approach

Without a doubt, the techniques associated with chiropractic are quite different than those offered with medical treatment, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and wellness. In contrast to focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care means finding the root cause of your pain, which often results in greater improvement as you are addressing 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 side effects from drugs and longer-lasting results.

You don't have to struggle with back pain or other health issues. Give our Waldorf, MD clinic a call today at (301) 645-8898. We'll do our best 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.