We see many patients with back pain in our North County St. Louis, MO office, and Dr. Mark Holland has been able to help many of them find relief with chiropractic. At the same time, dealing with 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.
In a report published by the medical 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 pain and restricted function due to back-related issues. Some of the patients engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder were given chiropractic adjustments along with regular medical care, as the authors wanted to determine which group fared better.
The authors determined that the group that got standard medical care combined with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the patients who got medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits in comparison 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 the two- and four-week marks.
Therefore, combining these two forms of care can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering benefits when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic and medical approaches can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some unique advantages over medical treatment.
Although it may seem as if each approach plays a 50/50 role, there is one significant 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 found 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 care 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 outlining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic care.
Certainly, the strategies associated with chiropractic are very different than those provided with medical treatment, but a great deal of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and wellness. Rather than focusing on only relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves finding the primary cause of your pain, which often means greater improvement as you are tackling the problem at its source.
In addition, while medication is sometimes helpful for treating certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach like chiropractic. This means fewer negative side effects from drugs and more permanent results.
You don't have to struggle with back pain or other health issues. Give our North County St. Louis, MO office a call today at (314) 867-8888. We'll do our best to help you get and stay 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.
