10 Things About Chiropractic They Don’t Want You To Know!!
Asthma Study on Benefits of Chiropractic
In a study conducted in 1996 by the Michigan Chiropractic Council (MCC), a panel of doctors performed an out-come assessment study to test the qualitative and quantitative effectiveness of chiropractic care on children with asthma. The study, which took place during May and June of 1996, examined the chiropractic effectiveness in correcting the cause of asthma in patients from birth to age 17. The average age of the participant was 10 years. "After 30 days of chiropractic health care, patients averaged only one attack, whereas prior to the study they were experiencing more than four attacks," said MCC Dr. Bob Graham, who directed the study. "Medications, which can be costly, were decreased by nearly 70 percent. Finally, patient satisfaction was rated 8.5 on a scale of 10." More than 70 chiropractors from 62 cities in Michigan studied more than 80 children suffering from asthma.
Chiropractic Shows High Patient Satisfaction with Back & Neck Problems
A research journal, the “Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics” published a study that showed high levels of patient satisfaction for those who went to chiropractors with what was classified as severe to moderate pain in either the back or neck. A total of 369 patients were sampled who had gone to chiropractors with these problems. These individuals were asked to complete surveys tracking all kinds of information from the type and severity of their problem to their level of satisfaction with care. “Based on the results of this survey, it seems that patients suffering from back and or neck complaints experience chiropractic care as an effective means of resolving or ameliorating pain and functional impairments. Moreover, the patients surveyed demonstrated a high degree of satisfaction with the care they received. Numerous other studies have demonstrated that chiropractic is as effective, if not more effective than conventional medical management of such complaints.”
Chiropractic Adjustments for Children with Acute Otitis Media
A recent study published in the March 29, 2004 peer reviewed journal, The Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, (JVSR), showed that chiropractic adjustments had a positive effect on children with acute ear infections. In the study 21 children were examined. The results of the study showed that after the chiropractic adjustments, the red and bulging tympanic membrane returned to normal in 95% of the children and a decrease in average oral temperature to 98.6 degrees F.
Chiropractic Adjustments Affect the Autonomic Nervous System,
Study Shows
The March 7, 2005 Medical News Today reported on a study that shows that chiropractic helps body physiology and DNA repair. The study, published in the February 18, 2005 scientific periodical, the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, (JVSR), was a collaboration between chiropractors and researchers at the University of Lund in Sweden. In this study researchers found that chiropractic care could influence basic physiological processes affecting oxidative stress and DNA repair. One of the authors, Dr. Christopher Kent, explained, “Going through life,we experience physical, chemical, and emotional stress. These stresses affect the function of the nervous system. We hypothesized that these disturbances in nerve function could affect oxidative stress and DNA repair on a cellular level.” Kent continued, "Oxidative stress, metabolically generating free radicals, is now a broadly accepted theory of how we age and develop disease.”
Chiropractic Care Lowers Health Care Costs, Study Shows
A study published in the October 11, 2004 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that including chiropractic care into health plans actually reduces the health care expenditures for those in the plan as well as reducing the overall cost to the insurance company for that plan. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effect access to chiropractic care would have on the overall usage of health care resources as well as neuromusculoskeletal-specific conditions, (such as back pain) within a large managed-care system. The study noted that back pain accounts for more than $100 billion in annual health care costs in the US and is the second leading cause of doctor visits and hospitalizations. The results showed that chiropractic care reduced costs across the board.
Comparing the health plans that include chiropractic to the ones that do not, the study found that:
- Chiropractic care cut the cost of treating back pain by 28%.
- Chiropractic care reduced hospitalizations among back pain patients by 41%.
- Chiropractic care reduced back surgeries by 32%.
- Chiropractic care reduced the cost of medical imaging, such as X-rays or MRIs, by 37%.
Chiropractic Care May Reduce Anxiety
The above headline appeared on the October 1, 2004, "Newswise", and the October 6, 2004 "News-Medical.net". These news stories stemmed from a published report appearing in the September 20, 2004 issue of the peer-reviewed periodical, "Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research" (JVSR). The report was a case study of a 19-year old female diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) who suffered from psychiatric symptoms as well as other problems for two years.
In December, 2001, the patient started chiropractic care for correction of nerve interference called "subluxations". This patient's results were then documented over a four month course of care. It was observed that medication was discontinued successfully. Additionally, the articles noted that after a four-month course of chiropractic care, the young woman reported an 80% reduction in her anxiety symptoms, including a 90% decrease in her headaches. The patient was able to resume a normal lifestyle without resorting to prescription or over-the-counter drugs.
Chiropractic Shown to Help overall Body function
From the April 26, 2004 release of the peer-reviewed scientific journal, the "Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research" (JVSR), comes a very large literature review study showing the multiple benefits of chiropractic care on people who are not suffering from pain or other obvious problems.
The results of this large review showed measurable objective improvements in things such as range of motion, blood pressure, heart rate, plasma catecholamine levels, immune responses, enhanced respiratory burst, pupil reactions, slower heart rate, improved pulmonary function, as well as many other objectively measured indications of improved body physiology.
Headache Relief Through Chiropractic
According to the American Chiropractic Association 14% of the public who see chiropractors presently go for headaches. For these patients the good news has gotten even better. Researchers at Northwestern College of Chiropractic in Minnesota, compared chiropractic care to certain drug therapies used for tension and migraine headaches.
The study, published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, followed 218 headache sufferers who were given either chiropractic care or drug therapy or both. Pain was reduced 40 – 50% in all groups initially. However, four weeks after all care was stopped, only the chiropractic group still retained the benefits, while those who received the drug therapy lost about half of their improvement.
Whiplash Helped With Chiropractic
An article published in the Journal of Orthopedic Medicine in 1999 pointed out the superiority of chiropractic care for patients suffering from long term whiplash. The authors of the article noted that a previous study had shown that 26 of 28 patients, or 93 percent, of patients with chronic whiplash benefited from chiropractic care. In the authors own study, they interviewed 100 consecutive chiropractic referrals of patients with chronic whiplash. Their results also showed that of the 93 patients who remained in the study, 69 of them, or 74 percent, found improvement. The researchers concluded their opening comments with the statement, “The results from this study provide further evidence that chiropractic is an effective treatment for chronic whiplash symptoms.”
Chiropractic Adjustments Affect the Autonomic Nervous System,
Study Shows
In a recent study published in the September 2000 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiologic Therapeutics, researchers showed that chiropractic adjustments have an effect on the Autonomic Nervous System. This research was designed to measure the changes in "Edge Light Pupil Cycle Time" (ELPCT) which is one of the light reflexes of the eyes. This reflex is controlled by the Autonomic Nervous System. The results showed a decrease in the Edge Light Pupil Cycle Time therefore showing a direct link between a chiropractic adjustment and a response in the Autonomic Nervous System. This new research adds much credibility to the reports of miraculous results under chiropractic by scientifically showing a link between chiropractic adjustments of the spine and the part of the nervous system responsible for the control of internal organs. This clearly validates and reinforces the great results that chiropractors have reported to see over the last 100 years. Chiropractic care can have a positive affect on organ system health problems.
