The Benefits of Chiropractic: SHOW ME THE DATA!

If you’re like me, whenever somebody tells you a fact about personal finance, or poverty, or their winning lottery numbers, you ask them: Where did you get that information? Including your sources whenever you make a bold claim is important, as any student, lawyer, or doctor (that’s me!), will tell you.  

As a Chiropractor, I observe dramatic changes in patients’ lives every day. Back pain, dealt with for years unsuccessfully, begins to heal and turn around in a matter of weeks. Migraines, once thought permanent, fade away. Just recently, a patient of mine felt an itch in his thigh after years of no sensation at all! However, this all happens in the safety and privacy of the clinic where nobody else can see. Far too many people deal with symptoms like joint pain, headaches, and muscle spasm without ever considering Chiropractic care. In many cases, this is simply because people don’t know about Chiropractic and what treatment offers. In others, a cousin’s friend’s roommate said it doesn’t work. This is unfortunate, because I know and my patients know that Chiropractic care works very well. But don’t take my word for it; here you will find research evidence supporting the benefits of Chiropractic.

Neck Pain

Ouch!

A 52-week study of 183 patients published in the British Medical Journal in 2003 randomly placed

subjects into a manual therapy (spinal mobilization, aka Chiropractic), exercise therapy, or general practitioner (counseling, prescription drugs), care groups. After the 1-year trial period, the manual therapy group had faster recovery than the other groups for a third of the total costs of the other programs, (Bos, Hoving, Tulder, Rutten-van Moelken, & Ader, 2003).

Low Back Pain

A study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that chronic low-back pain patients treated by Chiropractors found greater improvement and had higher satisfaction of care than patients treated by family physicians. 53 percent of Chiropractic patients vs. 13 percent of family physician patients reported that their back pain was better or much better. Almost one in three family physician patients reported their pain was worse, (Haas, Sharma, & Stano, 2005).

Sciatica

A 2012 study by the European Spine Journal found that Chiropractic spinal manipulation was more effective for low back pain with sciatica than either physical therapy or injections. Chiropractic demonstrated a 72 percent rate of success, whereas steroid injections had a 50 percent and physical therapy a 20 percent success rate, respectively, (Visser, et al., 2013). In this small study, it appears Chiropractic care is the treatment of choice for sciatica!

Headaches

Researchers combined the results of 22 small studies on Chiropractic treatment for various types of headaches (migraine, tension, etc.), including more than 2,600 patients. They found that treatment may help prevent migraines from beginning at all!  Another small trial found that one in five people reduced the number of migraines by 90 percent, while one in two people stated their pain intensity significantly decreased, (Migraine.com, 2018).

Blood Pressure

A 2007 study published in the Human Journal of Hypertension found that one – that’s right, one! – Chiropractic adjustment to the neck lowered pressure as much as two pressure-lowering drugs. Subjects in the study saw their systolic (top number), pressure drop by 14 mmHg, and their diastolic (bottom number), drop 8 mmHg, (Barkis, et al., 2007). This effect also lasted for six months!

Prevent Back Surgery

In 2013, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), updated its clinical guidelines for low back pain. JAMA now recommends people try Chiropractic care before resorting to low back surgery. Chiropractic care has demonstrated success rates of around one in two low back surgery candidates, preventing many unnecessary surgeries, (Goodman, Burke, & Livingston, 2013).

Frozen Shoulder

In 2012, a review study was published assessing Chiropractic care for patients with severe shoulder immobility and pain, commonly known as ‘frozen shoulder.’ Of the 50 patients in the study, 16 were completely resolved, 25 had 75-90% improvement, 8 had 50-75% improvement, and only one had 0-50% improvement. These patients also had significant pain relief, with initial scores of 9/10 pain before treatment and final scores of 2/10 afterward, (Murphy, Hall, Damico, & Jensen, 2012).

To Infinity and Beyond…

The studies above are some of the best examples of Chiropractic evidence in the research lab. Many thousands of case studies, testimonials, and small group studies have demonstrated how Chiropractic can be helpful for a wide range of problems, including:

• Pediatric Colic
  

  How far will you go?

• Acid Reflux (heartburn)
• Ear infection
• Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
• Sports Injuries
• Optimizing athletic/dance performance
• Constipation
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
• Fibromyalgia
• Osteoarthritis
• Scoliosis
• Complex Regional Pain syndrome

So now you know evidence in the lab supports our claims in the clinic. If you’ve never experienced how Chiropractic care can help bring about the life you’ve always wanted, please give us a call and find out. If somebody you love and care about could benefit from treatment for the problems I talked about above, please call and schedule an appointment with us. We love teaching new patients and their families how to live a fuller, happier life.

–Max E. Muehleip, MS, DC

Live Well!

Sources:

Barkis, G., Dickholtz, M., Meyer, P., Kravitz, G., Avery, E., Miller, M., . . . Bell, B. (2007). Atlas vertebra realignment and achievement of arterial pressure goal in hypertensive patients: A pilot study. Retrieved from http://www.chiro.org/research/ABSTRACTS/Atlas_Vertebra_Realignment.shtml.

Bos, I., Hoving, J., Tulder, M., Rutten-van Moelken, M., & Ader, H. (2003). Cost effectiveness of physiotherapy, manual therapy, and general practitioner care for neck pain: Economic evaluation alongside a randomised controlled trial * Commentary: Bootstrapping simplifies appreciation of statistical inferences. BMJ, 326(7395), 911-911. doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7395.911.

Goodman, D., Burke, A., & Livingston, E. (2013). Low Back Pain. JAMA, 309(16). doi:10.1001/jama.2013.3046.

Haas, M., Sharma, R., & Stano, M. (2005). Cost-effectiveness of medical and chiropractic care for acute and chronic low back pain. J Manipulative Physiol Ther, 28(8), 555-563. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16226622.

Migraine.com. (2018). Chiropractic treatment for migraines. Retrieved May 14, 2018, from https://migraine.com/complimentary-and-alternative-therapies/chiropractic-therapy/

Murphy, F. X., Hall, M. W., Damico, L., & Jensen, A. M. (2012). Chiropractic management of frozen shoulder syndrome using a novel technique: A retrospective case series of 50 patients. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 11(4), 267-272. doi:10.1016/j.jcm.2012.07.001.

Visser, L., Woudenberg, N., De Bont, J., Van Eijs, F., Verwer, K., Jenniskens, H., & Den Oudsten, B. (2013). Treatment of the sacroiliac joint in patients with leg pain: A randomized-controlled trial. Visser LH, Woudenberg NP, de Bont J, van Eijs F, Verwer K, Jenniskens H, Den Oudsten BL. Eur Spine J. 2013 Oct;22(10):2310-7. doi: 10.1007/s00586-013-2833-2. Epub 2013 May 30. Eur Spine J, 22(10), 2310-7. doi:10.1016/j.spinee.2013.11.004.