Chiropractic Studies

America’s number one choice for health care

Dr. David M. Eisenberg, director for alternative medicine research and education at Harvard Medical Center, stated that, “In 1997, Americans spent more than $30 billion on alternative therapies like chiropractic, herb supplements, massage and acupuncture – most of it out of pocket. Each year, patients make nearly 2oo million more visits to complimentary providers than primary care physicians in the U.S.”

It is important to note that, of those 200 million more visits, the majority were made to chiropractic offices making chiropractic the #1 choice for “health” care in the U.S.

Archives of Internal Medicine

A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, combined with the results of a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, may finally put an end to the question of how chiropractic affects the cost of health care, and whether it is more effective than traditional medical procedures for the treatment of back pain. Dr. Douglas Mertz, co-investigator on the paper, commented, “Our study shows that systematic access to managed chiropractic care may prove to be not only clinically beneficial, but can reduce key cost factors that drive up employee health costs in traditional care settings.”

The study showed that there was a 12% reduction in overall annual costs incurred by the health plan for members with chiropractic coverage. Lower costs were also seen in annual per-capita hospital costs and ambulatory services. The average cost per back pain episode for patients with chiropractic coverage was 28 % lower than for back pain patients without chiropractic coverage. Back pain patients with chiropractic coverage had a 41% reduction in hospitalizations for back pain, a 37% reduction in MRI scans, a 23% reduction in the use of X-rays, and a 32% reduction in the incidence of back surgery compared to the patients who did not have chiropractic insurance coverage.

Results of HMO Study in Illinois Comparing Long Term Benefits of Clients Choosing Chiropractors vs. a Medical Doctor or Osteopath As a Primary Care Physician
Those who chose chiropractors evidenced:

• 60.2% decrease in hospital admissions
• 59% decrease in hospital stays
• 62% decrease in outpatient surgeries and procedures
• 85% reduction in pharmaceutical costs compared to normative values

Senior Citizens Having “Maintenance Care” For 5 Years or Longer

• 50% fewer medical provider visits
• 31% of the national average for health care services
• 95.8% felt care “considerably” or “extremely” valuable

Journal of Manipulative & Physiological Therapeutics 2000, 23 (1):10

Chiropractic Influence on Oxidative Stress and DNA Repair

Chiropractors collaborating with researchers at the Univ. of Lund found that chiropractic care could influence basic physiological processes affecting oxidative stress and DNA repair. These findings offer a scientific explanation for the positive health benefits reported by patients receiving chiropractic care. (Medical News Today, Mar. 7, 2005)