Back pain is suffered by over 80% of the population so many ask should I get chiropractic or physical therapy for back pain? Medical doctors usually refer patients to the physical therapists but current research shows chiropractic provides better results.
Research has been showing for years the effectiveness of chiropractic in treating low back pain. It’s important that studies also compare the different types of treatments in outcomes and cost containment. So what does research show best chiropractic or physical therapy for back pain? A new study: Amount of health care and self-care following a randomized clinical trial comparing flexion-distraction with exercise program for chronic low back pain in Chiropractic and Osteopathy Journal reveals that chronic low back pain including patients with radiculopathy and sciatica did statistically better using flexion distraction chiropractic techniques than the physical therapy patients. Read the full study click here.
The long term benefits of the treatments were also compared by looking at the number of follow up visits required after either chiropractic or physical therapy in the year post treatment. The study examines how much care a patient went for after the initial study period. This helps determine the consumption and costs of health care. If a patient needs more care and visits, it increases the medical expenditures.
In the study of 191 patients, 107 were under chiropractic care while the remaining 84 were receiving physical therapy. Treatment consisted of 2 to 4 visits per week for a month. Each patient was followed up for the year after treatment. If patients were seeking more care it was known they had increased pain and or disability.
It was found that Physical therapy subjects had significantly more health care visits than those receiving chiropractic treatment in the year following care. 38% of chiropractic patients versus 54% of physical therapy patients sought care for their back pain in the follow period. The number of visits to a health care provider were less for the chiropractic group also. These patients averaged just 2.2 visits compared to 6 visits for the physical therapy group. Researches stated this is a significant finding in the number of visits between the chiropractic and physical therapy patients.
So with results like this what would you choose? Chiropractic or Physical Therapy for Back pain? It is concluded that Flexion distraction chiropractic manipulation was found more effective in reducing pain for 1 year when compared to physical therapy.
In our Freehold Chiropractic office we use flexion distraction chiropractic technique to help our back pain patients get the best results in treatment. It is our goal to get you better as quickly as possible with techniques backed by research.