Summaries
of research that support the effectiveness of chiropractic care
The RAND Study:
Preliminary reports published in 1991 by one of the most prestigious centers for research
in public policy confirms the appropriateness of spinal manipulation for some low-back
pain patients. This study is part of a larger, multi-year project designed by the
Consortium for Chiropractic Research to help establish standards of care for the
chiropractic profession. The Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER) is
assisting in the management of this study.
The Florida Study:
The highlights of this 1988 FCER-funded report support the findings of earlier studies of
workers' compensation claims that chiropractic care is more cost-effective than standard
medical care in the management of work-related back injuries. The results of this study
indicated chiropractic patients suffered shorter periods of total disability, and their
cost of care was lower, compared to patients of medical doctors, who were likely to be
hospitalized.
The Utah Study:
In another study of workers' compensation claims, this 1991 study found that patients of
chiropractic care returned to work sooner after an injury, reporting an average of two
lost work days to 20 under standard medical care. Furthermore, the study revealed that
chiropractic care was 10 times less expensive than standard medical care in compensation
payouts. Funding of this study was provided by the Workers' Compensation Fund of Utah, the
Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, and the Greenawalt Fellowship Fund.
The Meade Study:
A three-year British comparison of chiropractic care and standard medical care of low-back
pain patients found chiropractic treatment more effective than hospital outpatient
management for patients with chronic or severe back pain. The positive effects of
chiropractic care in this 1990 study were even more evident during the follow-up period.
Funding of this study was provided by the Medical Research Council, the National Back Pain
Association, The European Chiropractors Union, and the Kind Edward's Hospital Fund for
London.
The Koes' Clinical Trial:
A 1991 Dutch project compared manipulative therapy (chiropractic) and physiotherapy
(physical therapy) for the treatment of persistent back and neck complaints. After 12
months, the manipulative therapy groups showed greater improvement in the primary
complaint as well as in physical function, with fewer visits. Funding for this trial was
provided by the Dutch Ministry of Welfare, Health and Cultural Affairs, and by the Dutch
Health Insurance Council.
The Magna Study:
This study researched both the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the chiropractic
management of low-back pain, and found "on the evidence, particularly the most
scientifically valid clinical studies, spinal manipulations applied by chiropractors is
shown to be more effective than alternative treatment for low-back pain. Many medical
therapies are of questionable validity or are clearly inadequate." The study was
funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health.
Excerpted from the FCER Awareness Series, copyright © 1991, 1995, by the Foundation for
Chiropractic Education and Research.
The Western Journal of Medicine reports that studies show:
| · |
Chiropractic care to be one of the most effective methods in the treatment
of back pain. Back surgery, as well as bed rest are ineffective methods in treating back
pain. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, 1994 |
| · |
Patients receiving medical treatment for back pain require almost four
times longer to return to normal activity than those receiving chiropractic care (39.7
days vs. 10.8 days). |
| · |
Two-thirds of chiropractic patients were "very satisfied" with
the care they received for back pain, while only 22% of medical patients were. |
A study by David C. Classen, M.D. and colleagues at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, found
that adverse drug reactions to medications prescribed by hospital staff members account
for up to 140,000 deaths annually in the United States and cost more than 136 billion.
(Let's Live Vol 65 Nov. 12, 1997)
Timothy S. Lesar, Pharm.D., director of Albany Medical Center in New York, and colleagues
detected 11,186 hospital drug prescribing errors over a nine year period. Significant
prescription drug mistakes detected at the center increased from 522 in 1987 to 2,115 in
1995, according to Medical Tribune. (Let's Live Vol 65 Nov. 12, 1997)
Raymond Woosley, M.D., PhD, chairman of pharmacology at Georgetown University School of
Medicine in Washington, D.C., is quoted as saying that more than 40 percent of
prescription errors lead to adverse side effects, including death. (Let's Live Vol 65 No
12, 1997)
According to a report by the Harvard Medical Practice Study Group in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, 80,000 individuals die every year that's 1 person every 7 minutes. And,
according to a 1993 report from the Harvard University Press, some 150,000 to 300,000 more
were injured annually from Medical negligence in hospitals.
Incorrectly prescribed medications claim more American lives than crime and car accidents
combined, with an annual death toll estimated at more than 180,000 individuals per year.
This estimated death toll is equivalent to three fully-loaded, wide bodied jets crashing
every other day.
Antibiotics may not be the best way to treat ear infections. A study from the University
of Pittsburgh found that children treated with Amoxicillin recovered no faster than
children treated with a placebo, and the children treated with antibiotics were even more
likely to have recurring infections. (Journal of the American Medical Association December
18, 1991)
Allergy injections were found to be of no benefit in a study of 121 allergic children with
year-round asthma who were on appropriate treatment for their asthma. (New England Journal
of Medicine January 30, 1997)
Americans are choosing chiropractic.
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that patients
in 1990 made 425 million visits to alternative practitioners, mostly chiropractors,
compared with 388 million visits to family physicians or other primary physicians.
A New England Commission study found that many patients turned to chiropractic after other
medical approaches failed to help them. Studies show chiropractic is an effective and less
costly method of caring for neuro-musculoskeletal conditions (such as headaches; neck,
back, shoulder, arm, and leg arm pain; or any discomfort relating to muscle spasms, strain
and pain). A 40% to 50% savings result when chiropractic is the regimen of choice. What a
doctor of chiropractic offers for such health care savings are conservative,
early-intervention methods, as opposed to surgery, drug treatments and high-cost
therapies.
