PAIN RELIEVERS VS CHIROPRACTIC CARE?!?!
PAIN…. We’ve all felt it! So what are our best options when it comes to alleviating chronic pain?!?!
Well interestingly enough… a study that as published in July 2003 in the Journal of Spine shows that Chiropractic is five times better at relieving pain than Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID). For example Voltaren, Advil and Ibuprofen. The study itself showed that not only does Chiropractic help assist pain relief, but it also improves overall health. The study was a Randomized Clinical Trial, comparing Chiropractic to both Pain Relief Medication & Acupuncture.
The highlights of the study are as follows:
- It assessed the long-term benefits of medication, needle acupuncture & spinal adjustment as exclusive & standardize treatment regimes in patients with chronic (greater than 13 weeks) spinal pain syndromes.
- 115 patients were originally randomized treatment during the nine-week treatment period. They were followed up & assessed again 1 year later.
- Within 9 weeks of treatment, 27.3% of the patients getting Chiropractic adjustments reported having no symptoms compared with only 9.4% of the Acupuncture group & 5% of the group getting medication.
- None of the subjects receiving Chiropractic or Acupuncture reported suffering from any adverse events from the treatment, However, 6.1% of the subjects treated with NSAIDS (medication) reported suffering an adverse events.
- The most interesting statistics recorded the percentages of people who reported an improvement of overall health status beyond just pain relief. The percentage of patients experiencing better overall health were as follows:
- è 18% for the subjects treated with NSAIDS, 15% for the subjects treated with Acupuncture, and 47% for the subjects receiving Chiropractic Care.
In a world that is taught to quickly turn to medications for pain relief, it is important to note that more patients (6.1%) experienced adverse effects from drugs, rather than recovering from their spinal complaints (5%). Chiropractic has always advocated more benefits than simple pain relief, and studies like this help to put the nails in that coffin of truth. Chiropractors strive to educate the public on its benefits beyond just pain relief. This study, which largely focused on the effects of treatment on chronic spinal pain, also helped to prove that improvement of the nervous system translates into a body empowered to improve overall health
If you or anyone you know experiences chronic pain, please speak to Andrew or Veronika
