Doctors of Chiropractic – also referred to as chiropractors or chiropractic physicians – practice a hands-on, drug-free approach to health care that includes patient examination, diagnosis and treatment. Chiropractors have broad diagnostic skills and are perhaps best known for their expertise in the use of spinal manipulation; however, they are also trained to recommend therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises, and to provide nutritional, dietary and lifestyle counseling.
- It is estimated that doctors of chiropractic (DCs) treat about 35 million Americans (adults and children) annually.
- DCs are licensed to practice in all 50 states and the District of Columbia–and in many nations around the world–and undergo a rigorous education in the healing sciences at institutions accredited by the U.S. Department of Education.
- A growing list of research studies and reviews demonstrate that the services provided by chiropractic physicians are both safe and effective. The evidence strongly supports the natural, whole-body and cost-effective approach of chiropractic services for a variety of conditions..
- Chiropractic is used extensively by amateur and professional athletes to prevent and treat injuries as well as achieve optimal health and functioning.
These are just some of the reasons that people are turning to chiropractic to get and stay healthy and pain free. Chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system, and the effects of these disorders on general health. Chiropractic care is used most often to treat neuromusculoskeletal complaints, including (but not limited to) back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, and headaches.
PATIENT SATISFACTION & CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS
The essential services provided by chiropractors represent a primary care approach for the prevention, diagnosis and conservative management of back pain and spinal disorders that can often enable patients to reduce or avoid the need for riskier treatments such as prescription opioid pain medications and surgery.
- In 2017, the American College of Physicians released updated low back pain guidelines that recommend first using non-drug approaches to pain management including spinal manipulation, a centerpiece of chiropractic care, before resorting to over-the-counter and prescription pain medications.12
- Similarly, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2017 supports the use of spinal manipulative therapy as a first line of treatment for acute low back pain.13
- In 2015, the Joint Commission, the organization that accredits more than 20,000 healthcare systems in the U.S. (including every major hospital), recognized the value of non-drug approaches by adding chiropractic to its pain management standard.14
- Three in four people who saw a chiropractor in the past year (77%) described chiropractic care as “very effective.”6
- A clinical comparative trial conducted at three military medical centers found that chiropractic care combined with usual medical care for low back pain provides greater pain relief and a greater reduction in disability than medical care alone.15
- In another comparative-effectiveness trial, 94% of manual-thrust manipulation (chiropractic) recipients experienced a 30% reduction in their pain, compared with only 54% of medical care recipients experiencing the same amount of pain reduction.16
- Chiropractors are the highest consumer-rated healthcare practitioners for low back pain treatments above physical therapists (PTs), specialist physicians/MDs (i.e., neurosurgeons,neurologists, orthopedic surgeons), and primary care physicians/MDs (i.e., family or internal medicine).17