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What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic
is a branch of the healing arts which is concerned with human health and disease processes. Doctors of Chiropractic are physicians
who consider man as an integrated being and give special attention to the physiological and biochemical aspects including
structural, spinal, musculoskeletal, neurological, vascular, nutritional, emotional and environmental relationships.
Chiropractic Research
Evidence
for the Effectiveness of Chiropractic
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)
Popularity
of Complementary and Alternative Medicine
"acupuncture,..had a 200 percent increase in volume from 1999 to 2002, and chiropractic
care,..rose 91 percent in that three year period." -Top Growth Areas in the Outpatient market, A report from Solucient,
LLC
Reception area at the Merritt Chiropractic
Center
History of Chiropractic Care
The roots of chiropractic care can be traced all the way back to the beginning of recorded time.
Writings from China and Greece written in 2700 B.C. and 1500 B.C. mention spinal manipulation and the maneuvering of the lower
extremities to ease low back pain. Hippocrates, the Greek physician, who lived from 460 to 357 B.C., also published texts
detailing the importance of chiropractic care. In one of his writings he declares, "Get knowledge of the spine, for this
is the requisite for many diseases".
In the United States, the practice of spinal manipulation began gaining momentum in the late nineteenth
century. In 1895, Daniel David Palmer founded the Chiropractic profession in Davenport, Iowa. Palmer was well read in medical
journals of his time and had great knowledge of the developments that were occurring throughout the world regarding anatomy
and physiology. In 1897, Daniel David Palmer went on to begin the Palmer School of Chiropractic, which has continued to be
one of the most prominent chiropractic colleges in the nation.
Throughout the twentieth century, doctors of chiropractic gained legal recognition in
all fifty states. A continuing recognition and respect for the chiropractic profession in the United States has led to growing
support for chiropractic care all over the world. The research that has emerged from " around the world" has yielded
incredibly influential results, which have changed, shaped and molded perceptions of chiropractic care. The report, Chiropractic
in New Zealand published in 1979 strongly supported the efficacy of chiropractic care and elicited medical cooperation in
conjunction with chiropractic care. The 1993 Manga study published in Canada investigated the cost effectiveness of chiropractic
care. The results of this study concluded that chiropractic care would save hundreds of millions of dollars annually with
regard to work disability payments and direct health care costs.
Doctors of chiropractic have become pioneers in the field of non-invasive care promoting
science-based approaches to a variety of ailments. A continuing dedication to chiropractic research could lead to even more
discoveries in preventing and combating maladies in future years.
Education of Doctors of Chiropractic
Doctors of Chiropractic
must complete four to five years at an accredited chiropractic college. The complete curriculum includes a minimum of 4,200
hours of classroom, laboratory and clinical experience. Approximately 555 hours are devoted to learning about adjustive techniques
and spinal analysis in colleges of chiropractic. In medical schools, training to become proficient in manipulation is generally
not required of, or offered to, students. The Council on Chiropractic Education requires that students have 90 hours of undergraduate
courses with science as the focus.
Those intending to become doctors of chiropractic must also pass the national
board exam and all exams required by the state in which the individual wishes to practice. The individual must also meet all
individual state licensing requirements in order to become a doctor of chiropractic.
An individual studying to
become a doctor of chiropractic receives an education in both the basic and clinical sciences and in related health subjects.
The intention of the basic chiropractic curriculum is to provide an in-depth understanding of the structure and function of
the human body in health and disease. The educational program includes training in the basic medical sciences, including anatomy
with human dissection, physiology, and biochemistry. Thorough training is also obtained in differential diagnosis, radiology
and therapeutic techniques. This means, a doctor of chiropractic can both diagnose and treat patients, which separates them
from non-physician status providers, like physical therapists. According to the Council on Chiropractic Education DCs are
trained as Primary care Providers.
What is a Doctor of Chiropractic?
The proper title for
a doctor of chiropractic is "doctor" as they are considered physicians under Medicare and in the overwhelming majority
of states. The professional credentials abbreviation " D.C." means doctor of chiropractic. ACA also advocates in
its Policies on Public Health that DCs may be referred to as (chiropractic) physicians as well.
Chiropractic
Philosophy
As a profession, the primary belief is in natural and conservative methods of health care.
Doctors of chiropractic have a deep respect for the human body's ability to heal itself without the use of surgery or medication.
These doctors devote careful attention to the biomechanics, structure and function of the spine, its effects on the musculoskeletal
and neurological systems, and the role played by the proper function of these systems in the preservation and restoration
of health. A Doctor of Chiropractic is one who is involved in the treatment and prevention of disease, as well as the promotion
of public health, and a wellness approach to patient healthcare.
Scope of Practice
Doctors
of Chiropractic frequently treat individuals with neuromusculoskeletal complaints, such as headaches, joint pain, neck pain,
low back pain and sciatica. Chiropractors also treat patients with osteoarthritis, spinal disk conditions, carpal tunnel syndrome,
tendonitis, sprains, and strains. However, the scope of conditions that Doctors of Chiropractic manage or provide care for
is not limited to neuromusculoskeletal disorders. Chiropractors have the training to treat a variety of non-neuromusculoskeletal
conditions such as: allergies, asthma, digestive disorders, otitis media (non-suppurative) and other disorders as new research
is developed.
A variety of techniques, treatment and procedure are used to restore healing which will be the topic
of future education releases.
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Works Cited
Chapman-Smith, David: The Chiropractic Profession. West Des Moines, Iowa, NCMIC Group Inc., 2000: 11-17,
70-71.
Chiropractic: State of Art. Arlington, Virginia, American Chiropractic Association, 1998: 2-3, 12-14.
Spinal
Manipulation Policy Statement. Arlington, Virginia: American Chiropractic Association, 1999: 6.
Excerpted from
the American Chiropractic Association website
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