We see several back pain patients in our Jacksonville practice, and Silver Chiropractic & Wellness has been able to help a lot of them get relief through various chiropractic techniques. At the same time, recovering from 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 results.
In a study published by the journal Spine investigators1 looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who reported both acute soreness and restricted function due to back symptoms. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder received chiropractic treatment as well as regular medical care, as researchers wanted to see which group fared better.
The authors discovered that the patients who got standard medical care along with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the patients who got medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits in comparison to just 17 percent 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, incorporating 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 unique advantages over medical therapy.
Although it may 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, a study from UCLA2 that was printed in the American Journal of Public Health found that, on average, chiropractic patients are generally more satisfied with their recovery than people undergoing medical treatment.
According to the experts, the main aspects that patients liked over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors commonly spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can improve their health on their own, as well as explaining more carefully what to expect from chiropractic care.
Certainly, the strategies associated with chiropractic are quite different than those offered with medical treatment, but a large amount of the difference 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 primary cause of your pain, which often means greater improvement as you are addressing the problem at its source.
Additionally, while medication is sometimes helpful for managing certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach like chiropractic. This means fewer negative responses to drugs and lasting recovery.
You don't have to suffer from back pain or other health issues. Give our Jacksonville office a call today at (904) 634-0805. We'll do everything we can to help you get and continue to be free from back pain.
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Dr. Rita Hanania, D.C.
Dr. Rita is a Jacksonville native and graduate from the University of North Florida with a bachelors degree in health science. Her passion for helping others led her to pursue her Doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic in Port Orange, Florida where she graduated as Salutatorian of her class.
Dr. Rita utilizes a whole person approach and tailors each patient's care to their specific needs. She specializes in a variety of techniques, but not limited to, instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, diversified, gonstead, flexion and distraction, thompson, and activator. In addition, Dr. Rita is fluent in Arabic which allows her to provide comprehensive chiropractic care to the Arabic-speaking community.