Scrutiny of the health care profession is much greater today than ever before. Government ministries and independent researchers conduct scientific trials, track clinical results and survey patients to assess effectiveness and safety of treatment as well as cost efficiency. There have been at least six formal government inquiries into chiropractic worldwide over the past 25 years.

The value of chiropractic care continues to prove itself through these tests with high marks for effectiveness, safety and cost efficiency and extremely high patient satisfaction ratings.

National Back Pain Survey (2003)
The Survey of Back Pain In Canada was conducted for the Canadian Chiropractic Association by Environics Research Group in April 2003.

The national survey of 1,500 adult Canadians aged 18+ included 1,062 Canadian adults who have experienced back pain in the past 24 months and is representative of the age, sex and regional distribution of the Canadian population. The survey is accurate +/- 2.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

Why do 26 million Americans go to doctors of chiropractic each year? While some in the medical community can’t answer that question—or don’t care to know the answer

—the facts are there: about 50 percent of working-age people have back pain each year, and back symptoms are the most common cause of disability for people under the age of 45.

The result is billions of dollars in lost productivity. Surgery and drugs only add to those costs, as well as the duration of disability, but chiropractic can reduce costs and increase productivity by helping people get back to work sooner.

This study examines the utilization, cost, and effects of Chiropractic services on Medicare program costs. In the course of this investigation,
service utilization and program payments for Medicare beneficiaries who were treated by Doctors of Chiropractic are compared with similar data for beneficiaries treated by other provider types.

The results strongly suggest that Chiropractic care significantly reduces per beneficiary costs to the Medicare program.

The results also suggest that Chiropractic services could play a role in reducing costs of Medicare reform and/or a new prescription drug benefit.

Changing Views of Chiropractic . . .
and a National Reappraisal of Nontraditional Health Care

Today, chiropractors are the third largest group of health care providers, after physicians and dentists, who treat patients directly.

AMA policy now states that it is ethical for physicians not only to associate professionally with chiropractors but also to refer patients to them for diagnostic or therapeutic services.

This is a special report written for the Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) in its continuing dialogue with the Ministry of Health of Ontario which, like all provinces in Canada, is considering major health care reform.

The principal conclusion of the report is that greater Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) coverage of chiropractic services is part of the solution to a set of three interrelated problems:

(a) high health care costs for neuromusculoskeletal conditions and injuries
(b) inadequate and inequitable access to such services.
(c) poor or worrisome health outcomes of medically managed neuromusculoskeletal diseases, illnesses or injuries.

Greater chiropractic coverage under public health insurance plans can improve health outcomes, significantly reduce health care costs, and improve accessibility to needed health services on the part of several socio-economic groups who under the current Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) coverage do not have adequate access to care.

In 1993, the Ontario Ministry of Health funded a Canadian research project to study if chiropractic could help lower the costs of work-related injuries or improve the rehabilitation of disabled or injured workers.

This study specifically explored the effectiveness of chiropractic management of low back pain. Based on a historical review of the most significant clinical studies, the panel of researchers concluded that the approaches employed by chiropractic are the most effective forms of treatment. In fact, they found that much of the treatment not practiced by chiropractors had questionable value.

“Very Persuasive Evidence”
Besides revealing that chiropractic patients were able to return to work more quickly than those who received traditional treatment, chiropractic patients reported a high level of satisfaction with their care.

One of the most persuasive findings was the issue of safety. The study concluded that chiropractic care is safer than medical management of low back pain.

Doctors of Chiropractic are primary treating physicians, so there is no referral necessary from your family doctor or other practitioners.

On your first visit, the Doctor of Chiropractic will ask you to fill in a health history form and will review your case history and current health with you.

Following the health history is a complete examination consistent with various testing procedures individualized depending on the severity of your condition.

The chiropractic doctor will go over your findings and determine the course of treatment necessary.

Doctors of Chiropractic are highly trained in a variety of diagnostic techniques, including physical examination, orthopedic and neurological testing, radiographic interpretation and direct palpation of joint movement.

These techniques allow the doctor to determine areas of the spine that are not functioning properly. Components of the assessment may include:

Range of Motion (to assess your mobility), Neurological testing (to assess your nerve function), Orthopedic testing (for your joints), Palpation (muscle and joint testing), Muscle Testing (assess weakness of the muscles),

Posture / Leg length assessment (looking at your structure), as well as Spinal x-rays or other more complex imaging as needed. The chiropractic doctor will determine the level of assessment that is needed for your individual condition.

Following your health history and assessment, a diagnosis and treatment plan to meet your personal health needs can be determined.

Through chiropractic manual adjustments you can attain optimal health and improve your natural curative processes. Your chiropractic doctor has also been trained in many adjunct therapies and techniques.

The primary treatment known as the chiropractic adjustment is a gentle, controlled and directed pressure that helps to restore the spine’s ability to function and relieve nerve interference.

To find a Chiropractor in India, please see the link for Clinics in India. You may also want to consult your family and friends and mention how chiropractic care can benefit them.

Following a chiropractic treatment, patients often report experiencing relief of pain, improved mobility and a general sense of well-being.

Through chiropractic adjustments many of the stressors (such as bad posture, motor vehicle accidents, traumas, or inappropriate sleeping positions) can be relieved. Chiropractors can play a major role in preventative care.

Through regular spinal check ups, future health problems or pain can be avoided. There are many research studies showing the effectiveness of chiropractic care and the high degree of patient satisfaction with the benefits.

Conditions that are treated by chiropractic doctors include low back pain, neck pain, mid back pain, sciatica, slipped disc, numbness and tingling conditions, frozen shoulders, carpal tunnel syndrome, elbow pain, knee pain, hip pain, ankle pain, and many other conditions.

Please consult a chiropractic doctor to see if your condition is treatable. According to the University of Maryland medical center web site, some studies indicate that for osteoarthritis (OA), chiropractic treatment can: