We see quite a few back pain patients in our Aloha / Beaverton, OR office, and Oregon Medical Centers PC has been able to help many of them get relief with chiropractic care. However, recovering from back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many individuals 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 discomfort and restricted function due to back symptoms. Some of the test subjects engaged in treatment via standard medical care, while the remainder were given chiropractic care together with standard medical care, as the authors wanted to see which patients fared better.
Researchers discovered that the group that received standard medical care along with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the group that received medical care alone; 73% 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, integrating these two forms of care can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic and medicine can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some distinct strengths over medical therapy.
Although it might seem as if each method plays a 50-50 role, there is one major benefit that chiropractic has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, one bit of research conducted 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 experts, the main factors that patients favored over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't surprising, as chiropractors tend to spend much more time consulting with their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as discussing more carefully what to expect from chiropractic.
Without a doubt, the methods associated with chiropractic are very 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 well-being. Rather than focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic involves tracking down the primary cause of your pain, which often translates to greater improvement as you are tackling the problem at its source.
In addition, while medication is sometimes helpful for managing certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach such as chiropractic care. This means fewer negative side effects from drugs and longer-lasting recovery.
You don't have to endure back pain or other health problems. Give our Aloha / Beaverton, OR office a call today at (503) 642-2845. We'll do our best to help you get and continue to be free from back pain.
References
Dr. Bhasin grew up in Southern California and did her undergraduate work in pre-med at California State University Northridge, as well as Humboldt State University in California. Dr. Bhasin attended the University of Western States in Portland Oregon where she earned her Doctor of Chiropractic Degree. Dr. Bhasin has passed her National boards and her State Boards. Dr. Bhasin loves helping people and finds great joy helping injured people get out of pain and get their life back again. She has helped thousands of patients.
