Chiropractic vs Medical Care

Understanding the Difference So You Can Make the Right Decision

If you’re dealing with back pain, neck pain, headaches, or ongoing discomfort, you’ve likely asked:


“Should I see my GP or a Chiropractor?”


It’s a fair question - and the answer depends on what you’re trying to achieve and what the underlying problem actually is.


Both medical care and Chiropractic care play important roles in healthcare. They are simply built on very different models, with very different goals.


Understanding that difference helps you choose the most appropriate path for your health.

The Medical Model

Designed for Disease Detection and Crisis Care


Medical care is exceptionally good at:


  • Identifying serious pathology
  • Managing infections, fractures, cancer, and emergencies
  • Prescribing medication to suppress symptoms
  • Performing surgery when tissue damage is present


If you have:


  • Infection
  • Cancer
  • Progressive neurological loss
  • Systemic illness

Medical care is essential.


This is exactly why Chiropractors are trained to screen, assess, and refer when appropriate.

However, when it comes to non-specific spinal pain, the medical model has limitations. Research has consistently shown that Chiropractic care leads to better outcomes for patients.

The Reality of Medical Management for Back Pain


For most people with lower back pain, scans show:


  • No tumour
  • No infection
  • No surgical pathology


This is often labelled as “nothing wrong” or “wear and tear” leaving you frustrated, angry and unsure what to do next.

The typical medical pathway then becomes:

  • Pain medication
  • Anti-inflammatories
  • Muscle relaxants
  • Imaging escalation
  • Specialist referral
  • In some cases, surgery


Despite this approach, outcomes have not improved over the past 50 years (Deyo et al., 2015).

Research consistently shows:


  • Paracetamol is ineffective for back pain (Davies et al., 2008)
  • NSAIDs provide minimal benefit with risk (Enthoven et al., 2016)
  • Opioids increase disability and dependency (Chou et al., 2017)
  • Spinal surgery often leads to poorer long-term outcomes for non-specific pain (Nguyen et al., 2011)


This is not a failure of doctors - it’s a limitation of the model.

Fortunately, Chiropractic care is here to change that.


The Chiropractic Model

Designed to Restore Function, Not Mask Symptoms


Chiropractic care focuses on:

  • Spinal movement
  • Nervous system function
  • Mechanical and neurological efficiency
  • Long-term resilience and recovery


Rather than asking:
“Where does it hurt?”


We ask:

  • What’s not moving properly?
  • How is the nervous system adapting?
  • Why has this problem persisted?
  • What is preventing recovery?


Pain is a signal from the body telling us, something is wrong. It's not the target.

Why Chiropractic Is So Effective for Spinal Conditions


Modern research shows that Chiropractic care:



  • Improves pain and function in acute and chronic lower back pain (Bronfort et al., 2008)
  • Outperforms usual medical care alone (Goertz et al., 2018)
  • Reduces medication and surgery rates (Cifuentes et al., 2011)
  • Produces measurable changes in brain processing and sensorimotor integration (Haavik & Murphy, 2012; Niazi et al., 2024)


This explains why Chiropractic is now recommended in many international clinical guidelines as first-line care for back pain.

Pain Relief vs Functional Recovery


A key difference between the two models:

Medical care:


  • Aims to reduce pain
  • Often through chemical suppression

Chiropractic care:

  • Aims to restore movement and neurological function
  • Pain reduction follows improved function


Pain can disappear without fixing the problem.
Function cannot improve without addressing the problem.



This is why many people feel “better” on medication, yet relapse or worsen once it stops.

Why Many GPs Now Refer Directly to Adjusting to Health


As the research has grown, many GPs now recognise that:

  • Chiropractic care is safe when properly applied
  • It is highly effective for musculoskeletal conditions
  • It reduces reliance on drugs and imaging
  • It improves long-term outcomes


At Adjusting to Health, we receive regular referrals from local medical practices, particularly for:

  • Lower back and neck pain
  • Headaches and migraines
  • Postural and chronic spinal conditions


This trust is built on our structured assessment, re-examination process, and evidence-based care delivery.

References


Bronfort, G. et al. (2008). Evidence-informed management of chronic low back pain with spinal manipulation and mobilization. The Spine Journal, 8(1), pp.213–225.


Chou, R. et al. (2017). Systemic pharmacologic therapies for low back pain. Annals of Internal Medicine, 166(7), pp.480–492.


Cifuentes, M. et al. (2011). Health maintenance care and disability recurrence in low back pain. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 53(10), pp.1107–1117.


Davies, R.A. et al. (2008). Paracetamol for non-specific low back pain. European Spine Journal, 17(11), pp.1423–1430.


Deyo, R.A. et al. (2015). What can the history of back pain teach us? Spine, 40(21), pp.1663–1670.


Enthoven, W.T.M. et al. (2016). NSAIDs for chronic low back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 2.


Goertz, C.M. et al. (2018). Effect of usual medical care plus chiropractic care vs usual medical care alone. JAMA Network Open, 1(1), e180105.


Haavik, H. & Murphy, B. (2012). The role of spinal manipulation in sensorimotor integration. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 35(8), pp.611–618.


Nguyen, T.H. et al. (2011). Long-term outcomes of lumbar fusion among workers’ compensation subjects. Spine, 36(4), pp.320–331.


Niazi, I.K. et al. (2024). Neuroplastic responses to chiropractic care. Scientific Reports, 14, 1159.