We see a number of back pain patients in our State College, PA office, and Drs. Matt & Annie Reyes has been able to help a lot of them find relief through various chiropractic techniques. 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 outcomes.
In a study published by the academic journal Spine investigators1 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 care, while the rest were given chiropractic care together with standard medical care, as the authors wanted to see which patients fared better.
The authors observed that the patients who got standard medical care along with chiropractic scored "significantly better" than the group that got medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits compared to just 17% of the medical treatment 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 benefits when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic care and medicine can work together, chiropractic offers some distinct advantages over medical therapy.
Although it may seem as if each method plays a 50/50 role, there is one major advantage that chiropractic care has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a piece of research from 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 patients undergoing medical treatment.
According to the researchers, the main factors that patients liked 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 explaining more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.
Without a doubt, the strategies associated with chiropractic are very different than those offered with medical treatment, but a large amount of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and wellness. In contrast to focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care means tracking down the root cause of your pain, which often translates to greater improvement as you are addressing the problem at its source.
Furthermore, 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 responses to prescriptions and longer-lasting results.
You don't have to suffer from back pain or other health problems. Give our State College, PA office a call today at (814) 308-9352. We'll do our best to help you get and remain free from back pain.
References
Dr. Matt Reyes was born and raised in Apalachin, a small town in Upstate New York. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Fitness Development from the State University at New York College at Cortland. He then fulfilled his ambition to become a Doctor of Chiropractic when he graduated from New York Chiropractic College in 2013.
