As reported in the May/June 1998 issue of Health magazine, the prestigious Texas Back Institute (TBI) at one time included only surgeons and other M.D.s. Some have even begun to collaborate with medical doctors in integrated health care practices. Successful outcomes in both effectiveness and patient satisfaction, have paved the way for chiropractors to enter the mainstream of health care services.In a recent Gallup poll, 90 percent of all people who visited a chiropractor agreed that their care was effective. Doctors of chiropractic have long understood the cyclic nature of low back pain, and perhaps this is one of the reasons they consistently rate higher than MDs in patient satisfaction in this area.“In many cases, further treatment is necessary.” Michael Pedigo, president of the American Chiropractic Association. “This hardly comes as a surprise to low back pain sufferers who have been told by their medical doctors not to worry – the pain will go away on its own,” said Dr. This low number is in conflict with the commonly-held notion that low back pain episodes go away by themselves after a month. Only 25 percent of low back pain sufferers had fully recovered 12 months after their first visit to a general practitioner, the study said. Because back pain is so pervasive in our society, a recent study published in the British Medical Journal pointing out that back pain doesn’t go away that easily confirmed what chiropractors have always known.study, patients see a chiropractor primarily for low back pain and neck pain, though many seek chiropractic care for mid-back pain, extremity problems, headaches and other symptoms as well. The 1994 AHCPR guidelines for low-back pain concluded that spinal manipulation, chiropractic’s primary treatment technique, is one of only three treatments whose effectiveness is substantiated by rigorous research. In fact, in just one year more than 20 million adults used chiropractic services.

Quick relief of symptoms and sustained effectiveness have long attracted consumers to chiropractic care.

” The article also cites an Oregon study, which found that median work time lost for employees with back injuries who used chiropractic care was only 9 days as compared with 34.5 days for workers who used medical care. ‘It’s one of the best benefits possible from a quality, quantity and pricing perspective,’ says George McGregor, president of.

As the recent AHCPR report states, “In the areas of training, practice and research, chiropractic has emerged from the periphery of the health care system and is playing an increasingly important role in discussions of health care policy.” And, notes a March 1998 article in Business and Health magazine, “Many companies say chiropractic coverage has lowered their medical and workers’ comp costs, while raising overall health and productivity.

That same AHCPR report shows that fully 80 percent of American workers in conventional insurance plans, preferred providers organizations (PPOs), and point-of-service plans now have coverage that pays at least part of the cost of chiropractic care.

A December 1997 report from the Federal Agency for Health Policy and Research (AHCPR) notes that the chiropractic profession is now the third largest group of doctoral-level providers in the United States (after medical doctors and dentists).

Poll results released in January 1998 by Landmark Healthcare, Inc., showed that one in every five adults ages 55 to 64 has used chiropractic care.

This study by the Rand Corporation found that 46 percent of a sample of low-back pain patients received appropriate care from doctors of chiropractic – an appropriateness rating similar to that of common medical procedures.

A study published in the Jissue of the Annals of Internal Medicine shows that chiropractic treatment is appropriate for low-back pain in a considerable number of cases.

In particular, more people are turning to chiropractic services.

A critical mass of recent surveys and studies document the fact that the public, and conventional health care providers and payers, have come to recognize that traditional medicine can’t answer all of consumers’ health care needs.

Problems with quick notes chiropractic