Health & Chiro Articles

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA), is sponsoring Spinal Health Month in October. During that month people are urged to talk to your local doctor of chiropractic about the natural ways you can improve your spinal health and enhance your overall well being.

A national spokesperson from the ACA noted, “The goal of a doctor of chiropractic is to offer the highest-quality, professional health care, while teaching patients how to maintain their physical well being and a healthful lifestyle. Spinal Health Month is the perfect time to take control of your health by discovering this natural approach to wellness.”

The article published on Wednesday October 6, 2004 in Yahoo Finance, also notes that over 30 million Americans sought chiropractic care last year alone, and recent studies show that patient satisfaction is extremely high for those who seek care from a doctor of chiropractic.

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The article lists several recommendations by the ACA. They are:

• Don’t lift by bending over. Instead, bend your hips and knees and then squat to pick up the object. Keep your back straight, and hold the object close to your body.
• Don’t twist your body while lifting.
• Push, rather than pull, when you must move heavy objects.
• If you must sit for long periods, take frequent breaks and stretch.
• Wear flat shoes or shoes with low heels.
• Exercise regularly. An inactive lifestyle contributes to lower-back pain.

More people are visiting and paying for their care to go to chiropractors. This from a May 16, 2000 WebMD article reporting on a study published in the Journal of the Geriatric Society. That study of more than 800 patients showed that more than half of people over age 55 seek chiropractic care for mild to moderate complaints, without visiting their primary care provider.

The study conducted through 96 various chiropractic offices in 32 states and two Canadian provinces collected data on 805 eligible patients aged 55 years and older during a 12-week study period.

“Many of these baby boomers recognize that the old traditional model of health care that deals with trauma and emergency-type care is no longer applicable to a growing and aging population of chronic illness,” said Jerome McAndrews, D.C., a chiropractor and a chiropractic spokesperson. “Sixty million people in the U.S. have used chiropractic — 27 million in 1999 alone.”

The article listed the following as vital information concerning people who go to chiropractors.

• About half of people over age 55 see a chiropractor for mild to moderate complaints, usually low back pain.
• Patients with more severe complaints tend to seek both traditional medical care and chiropractic care.
• People who use chiropractic care are more likely to be focused on wellness, eating habits, and healthy lifestyles, and prefer not to take medications, according to a new report.

A study published on July 28, 2011 by the US Office of the Actuary at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, revealed that by the year 2020 the cost of healthcare in the US will expand to $4.6 trillion per year. This study shows that healthcare spending is growing at a much faster pace than the US economy.

Several news outlets reported on the study including a July 28, 2011, article in the San Francisco Chronicle that posted some ominous facts about healthcare spending, noting that, “America’s health care bill will jump from $2.7 trillion this year to $4.6 trillion in 2020. It will take $1 of every $5 in the economy instead of the current $1 out of $6 and go from $8,650 per capita up to $13,710.”

A July 28, 2011, Health Day article published in the US News and World Reports that as we get closer to the year 2020, more and more of the total cost of healthcare will be picked up by the US government. Although still outpacing the economy, healthcare costs actually slowed in 2010 to only 3.9 percent growth. That number is expected to rise to over 8 percent as the new healthcare system is phased in, and the Baby Boomers get older and rely on more medical care.

Lead report author, Sean P. Keehan, an economist in the Office of the Actuary at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services stated, “We have projected health care costs to grow at an average rate of 5.8 percent a year for 2010 to 2020.”

Keehan also noted in the study that the growth of healthcare would have averaged 5.7 percent between 2010 and 2020 if there were no new “Affordable Care Act” commonly referred to as Obamacare. This means that the effect of the new healthcare system is only one tenth of one percent increase in cost. However, the author notes that, simultaneously, by 2020, nearly thirty million Americans are expected to gain health insurance coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act.

Not everyone sees the increase in spending as a problem. Some note that some of the increase is for preventative and wellness services, thus saving money and promoting health. Richard Hamburg, deputy director of the non-partisan advocacy group Trust for America’s Health, summed up his thoughts in the Health Day article by noting, “From our perspective, the great new investment in the Affordable Care Act is the attention to prevention and public health. Over time, investing in wellness and prevention programs will save money down the line; and while we save lives we will decrease the incidence of chronic diseases and save significant costs”. He ended by saying, “People will live longer, more productive lives.”

Preliminary results of a new scientific study show that chiropractic care significantly improves both standard physical assessments for health and self-assessment of quality of life. The study was conducted at the Sherman College Health Center in Spartanburg South Carolina, and was published in the August 6, 2007 issue of the scientific periodical, The Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research.

In this study 10 volunteers were tested for a series of standard physical assessments prior to starting chiropractic care. These assessments include neck and lower back range of motion, spinal balance and postural analysis, as well as sensory testing, reflexes and muscle strength. The same tests were performed after 5.5 months of chiropractic care.

In addition to the physical assessments all participants were also asked to complete a “Health Related Quality of Life Survey” (HRQL). This standardized test asks participants to self rate areas of their life including their Physical State as well as their Mental and Emotional State. Additionally, participants using the HRQL survey also rate their Stress Evaluation, Life Enjoyment and their Overall Quality of Life. The questionnaires are then scored and analyzed and an overall “wellness” assessment is made. These tests were also conducted a second time after 5.5 months of chiropractic care.

The ten volunteers included one public utility worker, and one mayor of a local community, The remaining eight volunteers were full and/or part-time firefighters for various municipalities in South Carolina, with one also serving as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician.

The results showed, that as a group, there was improvement in both the physical assessment and the self evaluation wellness assessment. The researchers reported that physical testing of the volunteers showed a “statistically significant reduction” in the specific tests performed. The physical test scores improved from a pre-test high of 16.0 down to an average of 9.5. The researchers also reported that there was a significant improvement in the subjects self-reported mental and emotional state, stress management, life enjoyment, and overall quality of life.

In their discussion, the researchers noted, “The present study has provided data which suggests that over as brief a time as an average of 5.5 months, consistent chiropractic care provides a predictable improvement of both physical findings and significantly enhanced self-perceptions of physical status, mental/emotional status and overall combined wellness, all important benefits for public safety personnel, as attested to through current literature.” The researchers concluded that, “Even relatively short term chiropractic care has demonstrable benefits for volunteers serving in acknowledged areas of stressful public service.”

On April 30, 2009 The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing public awareness of chiropractic, issued a release announcing that Retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Becky Halstead will serve as its spokesperson and share with the public her positive experiences with chiropractic care. Halstead served 27 years with the United States Army, and was the first female in U.S. history to command in combat at the strategic level. She is also a big supporter of chiropractic care.

She noted as she described her deployment. “The year I was deployed to Iraq I missed my friends and family — and my chiropractor!” asserts Halstead. Presently chiropractic care is available through the U.S. armed forces healthcare delivery system at only approximately 25 percent of the military treatment facilities. “Personally, I hope someday that chiropractic care becomes part of all our military’s healthcare programs, so that all soldiers can have the opportunity to benefit from the care that only a doctor of chiropractic can provide.”

In the Foundation’s release General Halstead commented, “I have always been grateful for the care of my chiropractor and feel it is an essential part of not only preventing more serious health concerns, but also assisting in the recovery from strains and other injuries,” adds Halstead. The retired General continued by saying, “I have always been grateful for the care of my chiropractor and feel it is an essential part of not only preventing more serious health concerns, but also assisting in the recovery from strains and other injuries,” adds Halstead. “My chiropractor is genuinely interested in me, my life and my health, and takes a holistic approach to my wellness.”

Halstead, a 1981 West Point graduate summed up her remarks about chiropractic by saying, “(Chiropractic), allows me to be part of the solution and encourages me to be part of my own wellness plan. One of the greatest emotions in the world is relief, and that is exactly what my chiropractor provides mea tremendous amount of relief from my pain.”

In the November 11th, 1998 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, (JAMA), David Eisenberg, M.D. published his long awaited follow up study on the use of “Alternative Medicine” in the United States. Several years earlier, Dr. Eisenberg published his initial study that rocked the medical community with his findings of how many people were actually going to what he termed “Alternative Providers”.

From inside the medical profession, any other health care profession was known as an alternative. However, the numbers from the Eisenberg study quickly showed that chiropractic and other non-medical forms of health care are not “alternative” in the public’s eye.

This new study, conducted in 1997, illustrated some astounding facts and figures.

• Americans spent $27 billion out-of-pocket for alternative therapies in 1997.
• Four out of 10 people used alternative healthcare in 1997.
• Visits to alternative health care providers (mostly chiropractors) increased by almost 50% from 1990.
• The number of visits to alternative health care providers (629 million) exceeded visits to medical providers (only 386 million) visits in 1997 alone.
• Less than 40% of patients tell their medical doctors that they seek alternative therapies.

Researchers also found that 42% of the alternative care was for existing illness while 58% was used for prevention and wellness. These numbers look good for the chiropractic profession, which has built its health care delivery future on wellness. “Many people initially enter the chiropractor’s office for a health problem. But many then stay there for the wellness benefits chiropractic has to offer”, says Robert Braile, D.C. President of the International Chiropractor Association.

Study shows more people using “alternative” health care.

According to an article in the May 20 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), more people are turning toward what JAMA terms “Alternative Medicine”. Traditionally, chiropractors do not use the term “Alternative Medicine” when referring to the profession of chiropractic, since chiropractic is a drugless natural approach to health. But it is interesting to note how the medical profession views chiropractic and other health approaches they term “alternative”.

The article says, “Research both in the United States and abroad suggests that significant numbers of people are involved with various forms of alternative medicine. However, the reasons for such use are, at present, poorly understood. Along with being more educated and reporting poorer health status, the majority of alternative medicine users appear to be doing so not so much as a result of being dissatisfied with conventional medicine but largely because they find these health care alternatives to be more congruent with their own values, beliefs, and philosophical orientations toward health and life.” According to John A. Astin, Ph.D., a researcher at Stanford University’s School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California who surveyed 1,035 randomly selected people, “Alternative medicine users tend to hold a philosophical orientation toward health that can be described as holistic and are more likely to have had some type of transformational experience that changed their world view in a significant way.

Most of us are familiar with the series of successful books “Chicken Soup for the Soul”. Well, now one more has been added to that group which speaks the truth and success of chiropractic care. “Chicken Soup for the Chiropractic Soul,” by best-selling authors Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Dr. Fabrizio Mancini was recently released and is now available.

In a review of the book, Dr. Eric Plasker states, “Inside the pages of this profoundly moving book, you will find real life stories of people who survived and triumphed over illness with the help of the chiropractic wellness model. Among the dozens of incredible testimonials are stories about newborns, athletes and average citizens whose lives have been miraculously changed by the healing touch of chiropractors.”

The book contains a series of testimonials from individuals whose lives had been changed by chiropractic. One such notable testimonial was from Olympic Triathlon Gold medalist Dan O’Brien, “I have gone from the depths of despair and failure to the pinnacle of athletic and personal victory. It’s been a long, sometimes anguishing, and much-publicized journey. Through it all, one thing is absolutely certain – if not for chiropractic, I would not have won the gold! ” He went on to say, “I can honestly say, in the last five years, it has remarkably improved my overall wellness. I hardly ever get sick and I don’t get headaches. Chiropractic helps in injury prevention, and dramatically improves recovery – which is crucial, because I’ve found that the body cannot heal itself if it’s not in alignment”

Other stories in the book include a Vietnam veteran and former POW who wins the state golf tournament for amputees after years away from the game, a man without hope regains lost vision, an “infertile” woman who gives birth to a healthy baby girl and a child freed from migraines grows up to help others with the same problem.

Dr. Fabrizio Mancini, one of the co-authors of the book sums up the book by saying. “As you begin to read Chicken Soup for the Chiropractic Soul we hope that you will be inspired and moved by the heart warming stories of people like yourself who have chosen chiropractic for a holistic approach to healing, pain relief, and lifelong wellness. Many of the stories will sound miraculous to you – and to those who experienced them, they were indeed miracles. But once you understand the underlying philosophy of chiropractic they are not really miraculous at all; they are just the results of the body’s innate healing power being released to do its work.”

The above is the headline from a September 6, 2007 NewsMax article reporting on a pilot study, published in the August 23, 2007 Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research. The preliminary study showed that chiropractic care helped test subjects with adult ADHD.

In this study 9 patients ranging in age from 22 58 years were evaluated using a specific test known as the “Test of Variable of Attention” (TOVA). The TOVA company who introduced the test describe the test on their website as “The T.O.V.A. is an objective, neurophysiological measure of attention, not a subjective rating of behavior. It is a 21.6 minute long, very simple “computer game” that measures your responses to either visual or auditory stimuli. These measurements are then compared to the measurements of a group of people without attention disorders.”

The NewsMax article noted that In the United States, somewhere between 3-10 percent of children, and 1-6 percent of adults suffer from ADHD.

The study was performed in Lausanne, Switzerland by Yannick Pauli, DC, who is a chiropractor and the director of the “Centre Wellness NeuroFit”, specializing in wellness neurology. He described the study by stating, “In this pilot study, we used objective outcome measures to evaluate attention in nine adult patients before and after two months of wellness chiropractic care.”

The results of the study showed that after 2 months of chiropractic care, all patients had a significant change in ADHD score and 88% completely normalized their ADHD score. All 9 patients experienced significant improvement in concentration and additionally, 77% and 66% of patients experienced significant change in reaction time and variability score, respectively.

Matthew McCoy, DC, editor of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, added his comments in the NewsMax article, “This preliminary study is exciting. It is part of an increasing amount of research suggesting that chiropractic care may be an effective natural choice for people suffering from ADD/ADHD. It offers the possibility of a new option for millions of children and adults that are seeking to manage their conditions naturally.”

Dr. Pauli concluded, “Although the results are preliminary and more research is needed, the outcome of the study suggests that patients suffering from attention deficit benefited from chiropractic care.”

A health minded program, “America on the Move” seems to fit the Chiropractic model of wellness. From an April 9, 2004 release on PRNewswire, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) urges people to take an extra 2000 steps per day. America on the Move is a national initiative dedicated to helping individuals and communities make positive changes to improve their health and quality of life.

To assist in this program chiropractors are urging people to take some simple additional steps each day. Dr. George McClelland, a chiropractor and member of ACA’s Wellness Committee, explains that, “Adding a short walk to your lunchtime schedule, coupled with taking the stairs at work rather than the elevator, could add up to 2,000 additional steps for many of us. And cutting just one can of soda from your day and replacing it with water can eliminate more than 100 calories.”

According to Dr. McClelland, “Many health care providers are now beginning to talk with their patients about healthy lifestyles — an approach doctors of chiropractic have taken for many years. It’s simply not good enough to wait until someone gets sick to start thinking about making them well. As we’ve seen, that model of health care is just not working.”

The article notes that the easiest way to keep track of your extra 2,000 steps is to get your hands on a pedometer, a small device that can count the number of steps you take. It just might be the best 10 dollars you’ll ever spend.

In the February 11, 2002 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine comes an article on a study performed to see if there is a relationship between the usage of what the study called CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) and insurance coverage. Included in the CAM professions, one of the most regularly used is chiropractic care. Past studies showed that an estimated 44% of the US population used at least 1 CAM procedure in 1997. Of those using CAM, 52% had seen at least 1 CAM provider in the last year.

This study was performed by conducting a nationally representative, random household telephone survey of 2055 adults. Not surprising, the study showed that factors independently associated with frequent use (more than 8 visits per year) of a CAM provider were full insurance coverage for the CAM service. This basically means that patients with insurance coverage tended to go to their CAM provider more often than those without insurance. According to the study some of the other factors that increased usage of CAM care include patients with back and neck problems as well as people desiring wellness or preventative care.

In concluding the study states, “A small minority of persons accounted for more than 75% of visits to CAM providers. Extent of insurance coverage for CAM providers and use for wellness are strong correlates of frequent use of CAM providers.”