Evidence For Benefits Of Chiropractic

The beauty of chiropractic is that as a vitalistic healing art, it addresses the entire person, not particular symptoms or condition. How is that researched? Controlled clinical trials are unsuited for studying wholistic healing (they were designed to test the relative effectiveness of pharmaceuticals - and don't do that very well either), so how to research chiropractic? Answer: outcome studies. This brochure, Quality of Life deals with Chiropractic's wholistic effects and is one of the 36 titles in our new color line. I hope you enjoy it. 
Sincerely,
Tedd Koren, DC

Would you like less disease and illness in your life? Would you like improved physical and emotional health? How about more vitality, less stress, more energy, improved sex life and greater life enjoyment? 

Try chiropractic! New research from outcome studies is revealing what chiropractic patients have been telling their friends and relatives for over a hundred years: "Since going to my chiropractor I feel better, sleep better, relax deeper and have been enjoying life more than I have in years." 

When you do an outcome study you take a group of people and give them something (referred to as an "intervention"). The intervention could be anything: a drug, a vitamin, an herb, surgery, a diet, an exercise regimen, a chiropractic adjustment or anything else. The people having the intervention are observed for any changes in their lives and health.

Outcome studies help answer the questions: "Is what I'm doing for my health really making me healthier or am I wasting my time and money? Am I correcting the cause or just treating symptoms? Are the benefits worth the risks?"

These are all very important questions because many interventions may have dangerous downsides. Drugs to lower high blood pressure can cause impotence; cholesterol-lowering drugs have been linked to heart disease, suicide and cancer; the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine (and other vaccines) have been linked to allergies, asthma, hyperactivity, neurological disorders and autism; yearly flu shots may cause Alzheimer’s Disease. Outcome studies help tell us if the benefits are worth the risks.

Doctors of Chiropractic are specially trained to locate and remove a small, often painless distortion in your spine known as a vertebral subluxation complex. "Subluxations" can harm your nerves, muscles, bones, immune system, energy level and overall physical and emotional health. 

When your subluxations are corrected your entire being may be affected. That's because subluxations affect your entire body – not only individual parts. Your chiropractor's care is not limited to making specific parts of your body function better but instead to helping your entire being (mind/body complex) function better. 

For that reason outcome studies are especially useful in observing the benefits of chiropractic care.
In one British study, chiropractic patients' most dramatic improvements were associated not only with pain reduction but with many of the factors that contribute to the quality of life such as sitting more comfortably, sleeping better, lifting, walking, standing, sex life, social life and ability to travel.(1)

In a study of 2,818 patients under Network chiropractic care significant improvements in physical health and mental/emotional health were observed. Patients also reported feeling less stress in their lives and more life enjoyment. These benefits became evident as early as 1-3 months under care, and showed continuing improvement as long as patients stayed under care…with no indication of a maximum clinical benefit.(2)

In another study of 89 patients under chiropractic care for five months, improvements were reported in their physical health, mental/emotional health and overall wellness. As with other studies, improvement continued with continued care. In other words, there appeared to be no end to the benefits of chiropractic care.(3)

Many people initially visit chiropractors for problems relating to pain and  yet what happens to them as they continue their care? In two studies of 153 and 311 chiropractic patients who initially suffered from these complaints, as they continued care they experienced an improvement in their perception of health and well being including general health, vitality and social functioning.(4-5)

In an Italian study of 17,142 chiropractic patients from 22 clinics, chiropractic patients had 55-75% less absences from work. The study concluded: "A most meaningful indicator of the effectiveness of chiropractic is the improvement it produces in the quality of life, not only because of its curative effect but also thanks to its preventative and rehabilitative functions."(6)

Are you getting better under chiropractic but leaving your parents home? A study of men and women 75 years and older revealed that those visiting chiropractors had better overall health and a higher quality of life. Chiropractic patients reported better overall health, fewer chronic conditions and fewer days spent in nursing homes and hospitals. They were also more mobile in their communities and were less likely to use prescription drugs than non-chiropractic patients. In fact, 87% of chiropractic patients described their health as excellent compared to just 67.8% of non-chiropractic patients.(7)