According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, which included a comprehensive survey of CAM group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine. Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine, and alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine. use by Americans, about 8 percent of American adults and nearly 3 percent of children had received chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation in the past 12 months. Adjusted to nationally representative numbers, these percentages mean that more than 18 million adults and 2 million children received chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation in the previous year.
U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
A 1994 study published by the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services endorses spinal manipulation for acute low back pain in adults in its Clinical Practice Guideline # 14. An independent multidisciplinary panel of private-sector clinicians and other experts convened and developed specific statements on appropriate health care of acute low back problems in adults. One statement cited, relief of discomfort (low back pain) can be accomplished most safely with spinal manipulation, and/or nonprescription medication.
For Acute and
Chronic Pain
Patients with chronic low-back pain treated
by chiropractors showed greater improvement
and satisfaction at one month than patients
treated by family physicians. Satisfaction
scores were higher for chiropractic
patients. A higher proportion of
chiropractic patients (56 percent vs. 13
percent) reported that their low-back pain
was better or much better, whereas nearly
one-third of medical patients reported their
low-back pain was worse or much worse.
Nyiendo et al (2000), Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
Chiropractic Care vs. Physicians
In our randomized, controlled trial, we compared the effectiveness of manual therapy, physical therapy, and continued care by a general practitioner in patients with nonspecific neck pain. The success rate at seven weeks was twice as high for the manual therapy group (68.3 percent) as for the continued care group (general practitioner). Manual therapy scored better than physical therapy on all outcome measures. Patients receiving manual therapy had fewer absences from work than patients receiving physical therapy or continued care, and manual therapy and physical therapy each resulted in statistically significant less analgesic use than continued care.
Hoving et al (2002), Annals of Internal Medicine
Correlation between injuries and chiropractic services
A study of 10,652 Florida workers' compensation cases concluded that "a claimant with a back-related injury, when initially treated by a chiropractor versus a medical doctor, is less likely to become temporarily disabled, or if disabled, remains disabled for a shorter period of time; and claimants treated by medical doctors were hospitalized at a much higher rate than claimants treated by chiropractors.
- conducted by Steve Wolk
