Numerous studies throughout the world have shown
that chiropractic treatment, including manipulative therapy
and spinal adjustment, is both safe and effective. Many other
studies have shown that chiropractic care can contain costs
and get workers back on the job in less time than other
treatments. The following are excerpts from a few of the more
recent studies:
For Acute Low-Back
Problems:
"For patients with acute low-back symptoms
without radiculopathy, the scientific evidence suggests spinal
manipulation is effective in reducing pain and perhaps
speeding recovery within the first month of symptoms." -
Clinical Practice Guidelines, AHCPR (1994)
For
Long-Term Low-Back Problems:
"There is strong evidence
that manipulation is more effective than a placebo treatment
for chronic low-back pain or than usual care by the general
practitioner, bed rest, analgesics and massage." - Spine, Van
Tulder and Bouter et al. (1997)
"...improvement in all
patients at three years was about 29% more in those treated by
chiropractors than in those treated by the hospitals. The
beneficial effect of chiropractic on pain was particularly
clear." - British Medical Journal, Meade et al. (1995)
"Manipulative therapy and physiotherapy are better
than general practitioner and placebo treatment. Furthermore,
manipulative therapy is slightly better than physiotherapy
after 12 months." - British Medical Journal, Koes et al.
(1992)
For Pain:
"...patients suffering from
back and/or neck complaints experience chiropractic care as an
effective means of resolving or ameliorating pain and
functional impairments, thus reinforcing previous results
showing the benefits of chiropractic treatment for back and
neck pain." - Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics, Verhoef et al. (1997)
"...for the
management of low-back pain, chiropractic care is the most
effective treatment, and it should be fully integrated into
the government's health care system." - The Manga Report
(1993)
For Headaches:
"Cervical spine
manipulation was associated with significant improvement in
headache outcomes in trials involving patients with neck pain
and/or neck dysfunction and headache." - Duke Evidence Report,
McCrory, Penzlen, Hasselblad, Gray (2001)
"The results
of this study show that spinal manipulative therapy is an
effective treatment for tension headaches. . . Four weeks
after cessation of treatment . . . the patients who received
spinal manipulative therapy experienced a sustained
therapeutic benefit in all major outcomes in contrast to the
patients that received amitriptyline therapy, who reverted to
baseline values." - Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics, Boline et al. (1995)
For the
Elderly:
"[Elderly] chiropractic users were less likely
to have been hospitalized, less likely to have used a nursing
home, more likely to report a better health status, more
likely to exercise vigorously, and more likely to be mobile in
the community. In addition, they were less likely to use
prescription drugs." - Topics in Clinical Chiropractic,
Coulter et al. (1996)
For Containing Costs and
Getting Workers Back on the Job:
"The overwhelming body
of evidence" shows that chiropractic management of low-back
pain is more cost-effective than medical management, and that
"many medical therapies are of questionable validity or are
clearly inadequate." - The Manga Report (1993)
First
contact chiropractic care for common low back conditions costs
substantially less than traditional medical treatment and
"deserves careful consideration" by managed care executives
concerned with controlling health care spending. - Medical
Care, Stano and Smith (1996)
Information
provided courtesy of the
American Chiropractic Association
(ACA)
http://www.amerchiro.org/
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