Chiropractic Research

Scrutiny of the health care profession is much greater today than ever before. Government ministries and independent researchers conduct scientific trials, track clinical results and survey patients to assess effectiveness and safety of treatment as well as cost efficiency.

Chiropractic has been one of the most rigorously assessed health care fields. In addition to many scientific trials, there have been at least six formal government inquiries into chiropractic worldwide over the past 25 years. The value of chiropractic care continues to prove itself through these tests with high marks for effectiveness, safety and cost efficiency and extremely high patient satisfaction ratings.

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National Back Pain Survey (2003)

The Survey of Back Pain In Canada was conducted for the Canadian Chiropractic Association by Environics Research Group in April 2003. The national survey of 1,500 adult Canadians aged 18+ included 1,062 Canadian adults who have experienced back pain in the past 24 months and is representative of the age, sex and regional distribution of the Canadian population. The survey is accurate +/- 2.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

Download report information here.

Spokes of Chiropractic Progress (2003)

Why do 26 million Americans go to doctors of chiropractic each year? While some in the medical community can't answer that question—or don't care to know the answer—the facts are there: about 50 percent of working-age people have back pain each year, and back symptoms are the most common cause of disability for people under the age of 45. The result is billions of dollars in lost productivity. Surgery and drugs only add to those costs, as well as the duration of disability, but chiropractic can reduce costs and increase productivity by helping people get back to work sooner.

View the "Spokes of Chiropractic Progess" chart.

Utilization, Cost, and Effects of Chiropractic Care on Medicare Program Costs (2001)

This study examines the utilization, cost, and effects of Chiropractic services on Medicare program costs. In the course of this investigation, service utilization and program payments for Medicare beneficiaries who were treated by Doctors of Chiropractic are compared with similar data for beneficiaries treated by other provider types. The results strongly suggest that Chiropractic care significantly reduces per beneficiary costs to the Medicare program. The results also suggest that Chiropractic services could play a role in reducing costs of Medicare reform and/or a new prescription drug benefit.

For the full report click here.

RAND Study 2001

Changing Views of Chiropractic . . .
and a National Reappraisal of Nontraditional Health Care

Today, chiropractors are the third largest group of health care providers, after physicians and dentists, who treat patients directly. AMA policy now states that it is ethical for physicians not only to associate professionally with chiropractors but also to refer patients to them for diagnostic or therapeutic services.

For more information on this study, click here.

Manga Report (1998)

This is a special report written for the OCA in its continuing dialogue with the Ministry of Health of Ontario which, like all provinces in Canada, is considering major health care reform. The principal conclusion of the report is that greater OHIP coverage of chiropractic services is part of the solution to a set of three interrelated problems:

(a) high health care costs for neuromusculoskeletal conditions and injuries
(b) inadequate and inequitable access to such services.
(c) poor or worrisome health outcomes of medically managed neuromusculoskeletal diseases, illnesses or injuries.

Greater chiropractic coverage under public health insurance plans can improve health outcomes, significantly reduce health care costs, and improve accessibility to needed health services on the part of several socio-economic groups who under the current OHIP coverage do not have adequate access to care.

For a full downloaded version of the report, click here.

The Manga Report (1993)

In 1993, the Ontario Ministry of Health funded a Canadian research project to study if chiropractic could help lower the costs of work-related injuries or improve the rehabilitation of disabled or injured workers.

This study specifically explored the effectiveness of chiropractic management of low back pain. Based on a historical review of the most significant clinical studies, the panel of researchers concluded that the approaches employed by chiropractic are the most effective forms of treatment. In fact, they found that much of the treatment not practiced by chiropractors had questionable value.

"Very Persuasive Evidence"
Besides revealing that chiropractic patients were able to return to work more quickly than those who received traditional treatment, chiropractic patients reported a high level of satisfaction with their care.

One of the most persuasive findings was the issue of safety. The study concluded that chiropractic care is safer than medical management of low back pain.

Click here for more details on this report.