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Chiropractic is becoming more a treatment of choice by professional and amateur athletes. This has been evident in the treatment of collegiate, Olympic, and professional athletes and has enabled us to gain recognition. Chiropractic care is not only limited to the more advanced athlete, but young athletes are able to benefit from chiropractic treatment as well. This is especially true in the areas of critical, acute, and emergency care.

The September 2011 is of Consumer Reports has an article regarding Alternative Therapies. There are listings of common health complaints and respondents were asked how well the therapies worked. Of particular note are “back pain”, “osteoarthritis”, ”headache and migraine”, “”cold and flu”, “neck pain”, and “allergy”. Since my primary focus is musculoskeletal, I was interested in the neck and back pain polls. Sixty-four and sixty-five percent respectively of respondents said that chiropractic treatment “helped them a lot”.

Neck pain is a common complaint that nearly three quarters of us will experience at some point in our lives. Neck pain is one of the most commonly reported reasons people seek primary care treatment. Neck pain results in millions of doctors visits each year and increasing health care costs. Although it is not life-threatening, neck pain has a negative effect on productivity and the overall quality of our lives.

One of our staff members brought in a full page advertisement for Spinal Decompression from our local newspaper. The Headline was very impressive and claimed almost miraculous results.
As I read through the advertisement, I too was impressed by the results reported by various patients. I liked the explanations regarding spinal decompression. In fact, I was pleased with nearly everything until I got to the “coupon”…… Free, free, free. Free evaluation. Free X-rays. Free massage. All you need to do is come in. Wow!

I contacted a medical colleague the other day to consult with him regarding a recommended orthopedic procedure for one of my patients. It seems that an orthopedic surgeon wants to remove what were supposed to be permanent Harrington rods which were placed in this patients spine years previously. My colleague, a spinal surgeon, agreed that in most cases he would avoid such a procedure. We discussed the case further and in the end talked about how working together (a multidisciplinary approach) was truly better for patients.

I recently saw a statistic that the average monthly cost of health insurance premiums are $421 for a single person and $1147 for a family. So annual costs are $5049 for the individual and $13,770 for the group. A significant amount of money. http://ehbs.kff.org/?page=charts&id=1&sn=6&p=1
You must pay every month, whether you need health care services or not. However, we all understand that a catastrophic illness could be a tremendous financial burden. So we continue to pay. And pay more. Monthly premiums continue to rise. As do deductibles.

Numerous studies have shown that chiropractic treatment is both safe and effective. The following are excerpts from a few of the more recent studies. By examining the research supporting chiropractic care, you will find that chiropractic offers tremendous potential in meeting today’s health care challenges.

For Acute and Chronic Pain

The American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians™ (ACBSP™) is a private, non-profit,

We have been extremely pleased with the results achieved with our Spinal Decompression therapy. Top Chiropractors have included this modality in their practices as it serves as a viable alternative to spinal surgery. Two major deterrents to spinal surgery are outcomes and cost. I do not have to expound the risks of major surgery. I am sure that most would agree Spinal surgery should be avoided, if possible. And the financial cost? According to Guy Boulton in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the average cost spinal surgery is between 25 and 50 thousand dollars.

We educate every person who comes into our office about musculoskeletal function. I have discovered over the years that people have the perception that the vertebra of the spine "pop" out of place and thus require popping back into place. This implies that the vertebrae dislocate and thus need to be reduced. Although spinal dislocation may occur, it is extremely uncommon.