The Patriot Project is a grass roots movement to provide chiropractic care to all Active Military, their Families, Wounded Warriors & All Gold Star Dependents.
The Patriot Project was found by Dr. Tim Novelli, and this inspired organization started after one life changing weekend.
No one tells the story better than the man himself.
It�s a little known fact that chiropractic care is included in veteran�s health benefits, and it�s an underutilized option.�The Patriot Project aims to change this by making chiropractic care readily available to our service members.
With adequate funding, The Patriot Project plans to develop a USO-type chiropractic care tour, visiting military bases at home and around the world, including all active forward operating bases like those in Afghanistan and Iraq.
We are calling on all chiropractors to help by becoming a patriot. �Participating doctors will make time available to�treat at least one armed-service member a week at no�charge. He/she will also help us collect patient testimonials, which will be used to further our cause in Congress.
Mission Statement
-To provide chiropractic care to active military, their families, wounded warriors, and Gold Star Dependents.
-To make full chiropractic benefits in TRICARE care readily available for ALL active duty military, retirees and veterans.
-To have chiropractic physicians commissioned as officers in all armed services.
-To have chiropractic physicians embedded in all forward operating bases of combat.
-To have a Chiropractic Department in every VA hospital and clinic.
-To educate veterans with service related disabilities; they have chiropractic benefit coverage through the Veterans Administration.
Why is The Patriot Project so important?
Military Heroes & Chiropractic
In 2002, President George W. Bush signed Public Law 107-135, legislation that ensured that chiropractic would become a permanent benefit for recipients of veterans� health care services. As a result, chiropractic care was gradually added to more than 30 VA medical centers.
In the remaining 120 VA treatment facilities, however�including those in several major metropolitan areas, the chiropractic care benefit has remained virtually nonexistent.
All veterans with service related disabilities are supposed to have access to chiropractic care; if not at a hospital then in the civilian community. Chiropractic treatment is a standard VA benefit. No VA facility can state that they do not provide these essential health benefits.
Chiropractic physicians are considered specialists with the Veteran Administration and with the Department of Defense, which means the Veteran must request from their PCP an approval for them to receive chiropractic treatment.
Problem #1: Vets DO NOT KNOW they have chiropractic benefits.
Problem #2: There is no listing of chiropractic benefit within the VA HealthCare Benefit section within their website except under ancillary services.
Problem #3: Vets DO NOT KNOW the benefit they can obtain from chiropractic treatment which includes acupuncture.
Problem #4: Vets DO NOT KNOW they can appeal their PCPs denial of their requests for chiropractic treatment.
Problem #5: Armed forces families do not have chiropractic benefits.
Problem #6: Veterans reliance upon medications results in a high probability of developing additional health problems and or even developing life threatening/ending situations.
Some veterans have found their local VA is reluctant to send them for fee-basis care outside the VA facility, and have required they jump through many hoops to get a referral for a Doctor of Chiropractic. This is against VA policy and does not go along with the VA�s own stated mission to be �veteran-centered.�
Many times the VA facility is trying to save money by denying fee-basis care delivered by doctors of chiropractic, even though they spend a great deal on numerous other treatments. VA facilities are unaware that chiropractic treatment can reduce their facilities cost.
Medical literature has revealed that when insurance company limit/reduce chiropractic treatment benefits, their total costs for healthcare, actually increased.
A patient receiving regular chiropractic care experiences reduced hospital admissions, surgeries, and pharmaceutical costs.
Studies indicate that greater chiropractic coverage, despite increased visits to a DC, results in significant net savings in both indirect and direct costs.
Chiropractic care could reduce Medicare costs�both payment for all services and average per claim payment.
Chiropractic patients typically pay less and are more satisfied with their treatment than MD patients.
Chiropractic care can be used to control health care costs.
Chiropractic patients reach maximum medical improvement sooner than when treated by a medical doctor.
Chiropractic treatment is not an add-on, it is a direct substitution for other treatment.
Conclusion:
Services delivered by doctors of chiropractic are part of the standard VA benefits and no VA facility can say �do not provide� these essential health benefits. Some veterans have found their local VA is reluctant to send them for fee-basis care outside the VA facility, and have required they jump through many hoops to get a referral for a Doctor of Chiropractic. This is against VA policy and does not go along with VA�s own stated mission to be �veteran-centered.�
The Patriot Project is determined to change this, with your help.
To learn more about how you can join and help the Patriot Project, click below
It�s a little known fact that chiropractic care is included in veteran�s health benefits, and it�s an underutilized option.�The Patriot Project aims to change this by making chiropractic care readily available to our service members.
Most people don�t go to a chiropractor for a better sex life, but that extra benefits is a pretty happy accident. �People come in with back pain, but after adjustments, they come back and tell me their sex life is so much better,� says Jason Helfrich, co-founder and CEO of 100% Chiropractic. �It�s no surprise to us�it�s amazing what the body will do when you take away the pressure on the nervous system.�
And what are those amazing feats, exactly?
Let�s start with what a chiropractor really does. Every function in your body is controlled from the nervous system, but when vertebra are off position�known as a subluxation�the nerves traveling between your brain and your muscles can become blocked, compromising your body�s ability to function as it needs to. Every chiropractor�s goal is to remove these subluxations, since they can both cause pain and impede feeling, Helfrich says.
But these fixes help more than just back pain. The lumbar region (your lower back) is a huge hub for the nerves that extend into your reproductive regions. Removing lumbar subluxations can improve nerve flow to your sexual organs, increasing things like blood flow to your clitoris or, for your husband, the penis.
The flow of nerve signals is a two-way street, though, meaning that adjustments also allow your organs to send messages to the brain more easily. This means that you not only do you become physically aroused faster, but your brain also registers that ready-for-action, heightened sense of pleasure more quickly, so you move past the mental obstacles that may be keeping you from orgasming, Helfrich explains.
The other key adjustment area for a better sex life?
Right below your brain stem, around the vertebrae known as C1 and C2. �Libido and fertility require a delicate balance of estrogen, progesterone, and other hormones, many of which are released in the upper cervical and neck area,� he explains. If there are any blockages right out of the brain, the impingement up there will have an effect all the way down.
Even your fertility is affected by the nerves and hormones coming out of the spine, as they control your reproductive cycle.
But beyond all of the physiological benefits of tweaking your spine to perfection, chiropractic adjustments can also simply give your muscles more range of motion. This means you can try previously impossible positions under the sheets.
�We want to improve people�s health, and health is about living life as its intended. Having a great sex life is huge part of that,� Helfrich adds. No arguments here!
Most people don�t go to a chiropractor for a better sex life, but the extra benefit is a pretty happy accident. �People come in with back pain, but after an adjustment, they come back and tell me their sex life is so much better.�
Walk into any gym or health club and you�ll find people exercising�their core. Coretraining has�taken the world by storm, and for good reason, as every DC knows. Strengthening the�core creates stability and better movement and helps prevent lower back pain. To help patients get the most from�their efforts, it�s important they understand what they�re doing. You can explain the difference between the local and global muscles, as I�ve outlined�below, and help your patients�perform core work safely and effectively.
What Is the Core?
I like to tell patients that their core is a shorthand way of referring to all the muscles of their�lower back/pelvis/hip area. It�s where your center of gravity is located and where movement begins. A strong core stabilizes the spine and pelvis and supports you as you move. The core has 29 pairs of muscles that�fall into two categories:
��Local Muscles. Patients can think�of local muscles as the deeper muscles, the ones close to the�spine and responsible for stabilization.�They don�t have much ability to move the�joints. The local muscles are further broken down into primary and secondary categories. The primary local muscles are the transverse abdominus and multifidi (the two most critical muscles for providing stability). The secondary local muscles are the internal obliques, quadratus lumborum, diaphragm and pelvic floor muscles.
��Global Muscles.�The global muscles are the outermost layer of muscle�they�re the ones you can feel through your skin. They�re responsible for moving joints. The global muscles in the core are the rectus abdominus, external obliques, erector spinae, psoas major and iliocostalis.
The core should operate as an integrated functional unit, with the local and global muscles working together to allow easy, smooth, pain-free movement. When the muscles work together optimally, each component distributes, absorbs and transfers forces. The kinetic chain of motion functions efficiently when you do something dynamic, like exercise or run.
Core Injury
An injury to one of the core muscles usually means an episode of lower back pain for your patient. When that happens, the deep stabilizers change how they work as a way to compensate for the injury and protect the area. The stabilizers now have delayed action; they�re turned on only after you move, instead of as you move. Because now they�re not functioning as they should, the�brain recruits the�global muscles to compensate. That causes a core imbalance. The result: pain in the lower back, pelvis and glutes (the big muscles you sit on).
Exercises designed to help get patients� core muscles back in balance are the best way to prevent re-injury and avoid lower back pain. Traditional abdominal exercises are often recommended to strengthen the global muscles. These exercises can actually increase pressure on the lower spine. Similarly, traditional lower back hyperextension exercises meant to stretch out the lower spine also may actually increase pressure on it. A better approach to preventing lower back pain is restoring stability with the core exercises below.
Abdominal Brace
The abdominal brace activates all the contracting muscles in the abdominal wall, without involving the nearby obliques and rectus muscles. This exercise strengthens the connection between the global muscles and the deep local muscles. This helps restore the balance between them and improves spinal stiffness.
To get an idea of how the muscles in your core work, place your thumbs in the small of your back on either side of your spine. Next, do a hip hinge: bend forward from the hips about 15 degrees. You should feel the muscles in your lower back move as you bend and stand back up again.
To do the brace, stand upright and suck in your stomach, as if you were about to get punched. Hold hat for 10 seconds, then relax. Repeat 20 times; do three sets.
You�ll know you�re doing the brace correctly if you poke your extended fingertips right into your side below your ribs and then brace. You should feel the muscles move under your fingertips.
Curl-Ups
Curl-ups train the rectus abdominus, the long abdominal muscle that runs vertically from your breastbone all the way down on both sides of your bellybutton.
Start by lying on your back with your hands palm-up beneath your lower back. Bend one leg and put the foot flat on the floor; extend the other leg. Hold your head and neck stiffly locked onto your ribcage�imagine them as one unit. Lift your head and shoulders slightly off the floor by three or four inches and hold that position for 20 seconds. Your elbows should touch the floor while you do this. Relax and gently lie back again. Repeat 10 times. Switch legs and repeat 10 times gain. Do three sets.
Tip: If your patient has�neck discomfort doing this, have them push their�tongue against the roof of the�mouth�to help�stabilize the neck muscles.
Side Bridge
The side bridge, also called the side plank, trains the quadratus lumborum, lateral obliques, and transverse abdominus muscles, all local muscles that help stabilize the�spine.
Start by lying on your side. Place your top leg in front of your bottom leg (the heel of your top foot should touch the toe of the bottom foot). Raise your body using the down-side shoulder and elbow. Cap the opposite shoulder with your free hand. Hold for as long as you can, aiming for 30 seconds. Switch sides and repeat.
Bird Dog
This exercise is great for training the back extensors, including the longissimus, iliocostalis and multifidii.
Start on your hands and knees (quadruped position). Raise and extend the opposite arm and leg simultaneously, like a dog pointing to where the bird is. �Hold or eight seconds, then return to the quadruped position. Repeat eight times, then switch arms and legs and repeat for eight reps. Do three sets.
Conclusion
All the muscles of the�core must work together to produce efficient and effective movement. The core is the center of the�body�s motion�training it is a critical part of any exercise routine. Teaching your�patients proper technique for core training will result in�big benefits for them now and in the future.
Share this Core Strengthening guide with patients, courtesy of WebExercises
Walk into any gym or health club and you�ll find people exercising�their core. Core training has�taken the world by storm, and for good reason, as every DC knows. Strengthening the�core creates stability, better movement and helps prevent lower back pain.
This is one of the most common questions asked by people seeking or considering chiropractic care along with:
�What are the risks?�
�Can I receive spinal adjustments without the chiropractor adjusting my neck?�
�Do chiropractic adjustments cause arthritis or even strokes?�
With media scrutiny over natural health procedures, specifically chiropractic and cervical adjustments, these are very important and serious questions, especially when one�s health is a priority. As a practicing chiropractor, I welcome the opportunity to address these questions. Chiropractic care is profoundly safe, and this article summarizes the current research, providing answers to these common questions and misconceptions.
Myths vs. Facts
In 1990, when I started working in the chiropractic profession, a common concern that patients had about chiropractic care was that �too many adjustments would cause arthritis.�� Years later, science has affirmed what chiropractors have always seen and known to be true in clinical practice � that in fact chiropractic care is not only one of the most popular forms of care for people with arthritic conditions but one of the most effective.
Unfortunately, for hundreds of years, health care practices have been permeated by folklore, sometimes known as �old wives tales.�� The trend continues today.� A 2010 study of over 1,000 board-certified American pediatricians found that over 75% of the doctors subscribe to at least one known health care myths. These include the myths that eating chocolate causes acne, listening to Mozart will make a baby smarter, and swimming within 30 minutes of eating is not safe.� Many doctors in this study were also found guilty of not knowing the expected protocols for treating burns, healing wounds, administering Aspirin to children, and safely dealing with seizures.
A review of the current literature indicates that frequent or extreme complications of chiropractic care should also be included in the list of the most common medical myths prevalent even in our medical offices.
Chiropractic vs. Traditional Care Preventing Back Pain
Spinal Care vs. Chiropractic Care
The spinal column�s role in overall health cannot be undermined as it houses the brainstem, spinal cord, and central nerve system.� Thus, for optimal health the spinal column must be examined and cared for by a skilled doctor.
Specifically, the foundation of chiropractic care teaches that damage to the spine, and misalignments of the vertebrae (subluxations) create interference in the nerve system, which are therefore reduced and corrected through specific chiropractic adjustments.
On that basis, chiropractic adjustment techniques have historically been rooted in precision and accuracy.� Although there are now many unique chiropractic techniques taught in professional schools and in continuing education, these techniques commonly focus on the evaluation and measurement of subluxation patterns in the spine and the specific protocols used to reduce the areas of misalignment.� In contrast, most other health care practices addressing the spine, never mind non-medical procedures attempted at home, are for the most part, generalized treatments of pain, global mobilizations of joints, and overall tractions of entire regions of the spinal column.
Receiving a specific chiropractic adjustment to reduce a subluxation is immensely different from receiving any form of �treatment� on the spine.� Admittedly, I did not understand this practice in my first 20 years of receiving chiropractic adjustments.� Until I attended chiropractic school and learned the techniques and analyses used in chiropractic science, I thought that chiropractic adjustments were all one-of-the-same.� I can understand how the general public might also construe this misconception � I did and I grew up in a chiropractic family.� Subluxations and adjustments are specific; the more extensive the analysis used by the chiropractor, the more precise the adjustment, and thus the better improvement in the patient�s health.
In my experience, the majority of the �chiropractic horror stories� shared in folklore, and even many of the cases cited by medical research, fall into one of two categories:
(a)��� The case of a the patient receiving care without extensive and correct analysis
(b)�� A person receiving spinal care incorrectly identified as �chiropractic care� administered by someone other than a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic
In fact, a 1995 report in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics revealed that many �manipulations,� incorrectly attributed to chiropractors, had been rendered by non-chiropractic professionals including GPs, osteopaths, and physiotherapists, and even laypeople including a wife, a Kung-Fu practitioner, a blind masseur, and an Indian barber. Therefore before someone suggests they were hurt or injured by a �chiropractor,� it is imperative to learn more about their experience.� In all likelihood some level of scrutiny was overlooked � or they weren�t seeing a licensed chiropractor at all.
Modern chiropractors use advanced technological analyses such as X-ray, surface electromyography (sEMG), thermography, and digital postural analysis, along with traditional chiropractic methods of motion and static palpation, leg length analysis, and visual postural inspection to make a diagnosis and determine the appropriate adjustment.� Naturally, to use layman�s terminology, if a patient presented to the chiropractor with a low left hip, and the chiropractor adjusted the left hip �even lower,� the patient would get worse.� For this reason, your Doctor of Chiropractic is not only highly trained but expected under every state and provincial law to thoroughly assess your spine and condition prior to making recommendations or giving adjustments.
MRI Scans Show Immediate Benefits of Chiropractic
What about stroke?
Since the 1990s, the most extreme fallacy about chiropractic care is that �adjustments of the cervical spine cause strokes.�� As a practitioner, I am pleased to observe greater inter-professional cooperation between physicians and chiropractors, but I am disappointed by the increasing number of patients who have consulted me following a discussion with their medical doctor and told to �not get their necks adjusted.�
A basic understanding of the origins of chiropractic care, and the critical function, anatomy, and physiology of the central nerve system demonstrates why the suggestion that patients should �not get their necks adjusted� is absurd.� While chiropractors are concerned with the reduction of nerve system stress caused by spinal subluxations throughout the entire spine, one must understand that all spinal nerves first pass through the upper cervical spine.� Therefore, interference to the nerves passing from the brain through the spinal cord to any area of the body could occur either at the associated spinal segment where the peripheral nerve exits the spinal column, or at any place higher, including the upper cervical spine.� Historically, Dr. B.J. Palmer, who developed the modern chiropractic profession, focused the majority of his research and efforts into the reduction of upper cervical spine subluxations, expressing that upper cervical subluxations were the foremost cause of disease and dysfunction compared to other subluxations in the spine.8 Years later, science continues to affirm the importance of upper cervical alignment.� It has been demonstrated that abnormal cervical alignment is a leading cause and an almost universal finding related to not only cervicogenic pain and headaches, but also the development of scoliosis9,10 and even sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). This awareness of the basic physiology of the nerve system is enough to understand the utmost importance of reducing subluxations in the cervical spine, above all other areas of the nerve system.
The �stroke hypothesis� stems from the theory that the irritation of the vertebral arteries, which pass through the cervical vertebrae, could lead to an ischemic stroke by causing accumulated plaque in the arteries to be dislodged.� As strokes may cause serious, permanent impairments in a person�s health, there has naturally been much interest and research in this topic.
Consider how plaque develops in the arterial system of the body.� Exposure to the known risks of poor diet, alcohol consumption, and smoking over a period of many years may cause molecular plaquing in the arteries, and it is true that when those molecules become dislodged, they can affect the brain, which is known as a stroke.� Unfortunately, your family doctor or your chiropractor can�t prevent this from happening � you would need immediate emergency medical attention in hospital to prevent this from occurring.
Warning signs that a stroke may be about to occur include upper back pain, neck pain, and headaches.� Naturally, people dealing with these symptoms may consult their chiropractor, hoping for a resolution of pain.� Many may also consult their MDs and/or other trusted health care providers.� Unfortunately, such pre-stroke symptoms as back pain, neck pain, and headaches may not explicitly appear to be the early stages of a vascular incident without the �red-flag� accompanying symptoms of blurred vision, dizziness, slurred speech, facial drooping, and lack of coordination.� Therefore, as it is not standard practice for chiropractors or medical physicians to refer every case of back pain or headaches to the emergency room, patients may receive chiropractic or medical intervention without knowing that a stroke is ensuing.
When is a chiropractor or medical doctor negligent?� If a patient visits the doctor�s office with neck pain and headaches while showing the classic signs of stroke (slurred speech, dizziness, poor coordination, etc.), the doctor is obligated to identify this and ensure that a stroke is not about to happen. �If, after examination, a doctor identifies that a stroke may be forthcoming, the doctor must see that the patient receives the necessary immediate medical attention.� Doctors who do not rule out the possibility of an imminent stroke or do not ensure necessary medical attention if a stroke is indeed forthcoming, would indeed be negligent � but this is very far from �causing� the person�s stroke, whether or not any treatment was rendered.
In fact, although a chiropractic adjustment would not slow down the incidence of the stroke, 2008 research shows that it would no more accelerate it than a visit to the medical doctor.� In an article published in SPINE, a multi-disciplinary team of researchers found that while strokes are very rare events in the general public, there was only an increased correlation between chiropractic visits and the occurrence of stroke, due to patients with headaches and neck pain seeking care before their stroke. Notably, the correlation of medical visits and strokes matched that of chiropractic visits and strokes; neither form of care was shown to increase the risk of stroke.� In either case, the unfortunate patient was headed for a vascular incident.� The occurrence of a stroke after a visit to the chiropractor (or the medical doctor) provides no association of cause, only correlation.
Is your chiropractor required to warn you about the possibility of a stroke with a chiropractic adjustment?� Interestingly, Dr. Christopher Kent, who is an attorney, independent researcher, and president of the Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation, has expressed that �such informed consent must be based on appropriate information and since there is no scientific evidence that chiropractic adjustments or neck manipulations actually cause strokes, it is inappropriate to require a doctor to suggest that such a risk exists.� Nevertheless, most state and provincial laws require Doctors of Chiropractic to disclose a remote risk of stroke to their patients, for this is common practice for �material risks� even when the likelihood of occurrence is very small.
Long-term Benefits of Chiropractic Care
Rather than study isolated reports of adverse incidences which may (or may not) occur within one visit to the chiropractor, it is more revealing to measure the long-term benefits of chiropractic care.� Ultimately, studies consistently demonstrate that a healthier spine relates to a healthier person.
Beyond symptomatic relief, a growing number of chiropractors place emphasis on corrective care and spinal hygiene, to maintain and promote the health of the spinal column and nerve system.
Without maintenance of spinal health, we now know through numerous studies that posture misalignment not only affects neurology but also the vascular system.� A 2004 study revealed that older men and women with hyperkyphotic postures have increased rates of death, specifically associated with increased atherosclerosis. With atherosclerosis increasing the incidence of an ischemic stroke, it is only logical for health-conscious individuals trying to prevent strokes to maintain healthy posture through chiropractic care.
Further, whereas a 2005 study showed that the reversal of the normal cervical curvature results in vascular changes in the spinal cord, the maintenance of this proper alignment should be of highest importance to those interested in the prevention of vascular incidents.
Statistically, the incidence rates favour those individuals receiving chiropractic care.� In 1995, the Journal of Manual and Physiological Therapeutics published the risk of fatal stroke associated with chiropractic cervical adjustments.� Although no cause was shown in the article, the correlation is estimated to be 1 in 400,000 or 0.00025%.20 Newer studies suggest the risk may be as low as 1 in 6 million, 0.00002%. Notably, the National Center for Health Statistics indicates the mortality rate from stroke in the general population is more than twice the rate of the most conservative estimates correlating chiropractic.� The risk in the general population is 1 in 175,000 or 0.00057%.
Not only is the risk of death from stroke after a cervical adjustment substantially less than the risk of fatal stroke in the general population, other long-term studies of chiropractic patients have shown:
Improved lung capacity, athletic ability, and vision
Better functional capacity, and reduced relapse of prior disability
Better overall health and greater activity levels
Enhanced DNA repair and enzyme activity; reduced impact of oxidative stress
Fewer hospital visits, reduced pharmaceutical costs, and medical expenditures
Improvement in health, wellness, and quality of life
The Final Verdict: Malpractice Claims
Lastly, as it is always possible that research could be slanted based on who was conducting it, perhaps the best measures of safety are the malpractice insurance costs for chiropractors and the actual frequency and success of claims filed against them.� No one pays closer attention to injury statistics than Malpractice Insurance carriers.
According to the Canadian Medical Protective Association, annual malpractice rates for Ontario medical doctors range from $1,572 for the family physician and $7,332 for the neurologist, to $44,520 for the Obstetrician.30 By comparison, the Canadian Chiropractic Protective Association�s standard rate for chiropractic malpractice insurance is less than $1,300 per year.� Notably, the first-year doctor of chiropractic is extended a new member discount of approximately 50% (as opposed to an increased premium), not reflecting any greater risk for a patient seeing a doctor with less experience.
American rates reflect the inter-professional differences to an even greater degree.� Whereas the U.S. physician could pay $25,000 to $50,000 per year for malpractice coverage, U.S. chiropractors pay annual rates less than $5,000.32,33 The chiropractic profession has a well-established record of safety and efficacy, and the chiropractor�s malpractice insurance rates remain among the lowest across health professions.34 The varying rates are directly related to the risk involved in the doctors� procedures, the claims filed against them, and the likelihood of future lawsuits.
Although they are sensationalized in the media when they do occur, claims against chiropractors are very rare.� Your chiropractor�s office consistently proves itself to be one of the safest health care facilities you can choose for your family.
Moving Forward
Unquestionably, there have been decades of misinterpretations, and unfortunately chiropractic myths have been passed down through generations.� Certainly, professional bias has also played a role in the public�s misunderstanding of the safety and efficacy of chiropractic care.� (The U.S. Court of Appeals determined in 1990 that the American Medical Association had engaged in a �lengthy, systematic, successful and unlawful boycott� designed to restrict cooperation between medical doctors and doctors of chiropractic.)� Fortunately, we are long past that day. �What you would hope to find in the 21st century are cooperative teams of health care professionals working together for your benefit.
My personal recommendation is to seek a chiropractor who not only uses current technology and techniques to analyze and render care to his or her patients, but also is willing to engage in dialogue with your other health care providers.� I recommend the same when choosing an M.D.
With this better understanding of chiropractic myths and the benefits of maintaining a healthy spine, I trust that you can comfortably move forward, integrating chiropractic care into your wellness lifestyle.
CHIROPRACTORS HAVE CLAIMED FOR YEARS THAT WE CAN BE MORE COST-EFFECTIVE. BCBS HAS THE DATABASE THAT WOULD PROVE OUR THESIS, BUT THERE SEEMS TO BE A RELUCTANCE TO ALLOW OUR PROFESSION TO ACCESS THE DATA THAT WOULD PROVE US RIGHT.
In August 1999, Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BCBS) of Kansas presented a study titled �Lumbago Treatment.� This data was made available from a new program installed by BCBS called the McKesson Episode Profiler.
This program gave BCBS the ability to sort data according to specific diagnoses and compared the costs, frequency, and other factors between peer groups.
The data revealed that while less than eight percent of the study group were chiropractors, 38 percent of the patients chose to seek chiropractic care rather that allopathic medicine. This fact indicates that patients desire and are satisfied with the management techniques of the chiropractor.
The study did not include any hospitalization costs for surgery or any fees paid to orthopedists or neurosurgeons for costs associated with surgery. If the data included costs for these procedures, the savings for chiropractic would have been much greater.
When sorted by the average cost per episode, chiropractic is more cost-effective than anesthesiology; neurosurgery; neurology; registered physical therapy; orthopedic reconstructive surgery; physical medicine and rehabilitation; and rheumatology.
The greatest cost-effectiveness of chiropractic is demonstrated when one considers the global cost of allopathic care. The physical therapist can only receive referrals from an allopathic provider. An allopath can only write prescriptions. The allopathic provider primarily orders surgeries, nerve conduction tests MRIs, and CT scans. Hospitalization charges are totally allopathic charges that cannot be associated with chiropractic. When these charges are considered, the tremendous economy of chiropractic management becomes indelibly clear.
The majority of chiropractic charges were associated with the basic office-treatment-related services performed. Eighty-nine percent of the chiropractic charges were for services related to the treatment, while only 45 percent of the family practice costs were related to treatment of the condition. The remainder of the costs were for expensive diagnostics.
Patients who visit the family practice provider have about a 15 percent chance that they will have a MRI or CAT scan. These services cost an average of over $1,000 and provide no treatment, only a diagnosis.
For each 100 episodes, the chiropractor provided 265 modalities. For each 100 episodes, the registered physical therapist provided 885 modalities: over three times as many units of physical therapy provided by RPTs than chiropractors. This is a cost that has to be globally charged to the family practice providers, since patients cannot access RPTs without a referral from a medical doctor.
Registered physical therapists provided 303 office visits per 100 episodes, compared to 255 by the chiropractor. When RPTs are combined with the other allopathic portals, there are 598 office visits per 100 episodes. Therefore, the myth claiming chiropractors treat the patient more than the allopathic portals is obviously just diversionary, and not based on facts.
Patients had a willingness to return to the chiropractor that was 22 percent greater than the combined totals of allopathic portals. This indicates a level of satisfaction that is demonstrated by the patient�s willingness to return, based on results and confidence.
The BCBS lumbago study demonstrates that chiropractic is not only cost-effective but also quality effective. Adding chiropractic services would only decrease the cost to the plan. What is hard to explain is the prejudice against chiropractic in the design of BCBS plans, and their reluctance to push the study and analysis of the data to the next level. It almost seems as though there is a fear that exists in the minds of those in positions of power, preventing them from presenting the cost comparisons with the global cost of allopathic portals to chiropractic. Chiropractors have claimed for years that we can be more cost-effective. BCBS has the database that would prove our thesis, but there seems to be a reluctance to allow our profession to access the data that would prove us right.
I guess the million-dollar questions are �Why?� and �What are they afraid of?� Perhaps it is the fear of knowing how to handle the data once it proved that chiropractic was more cost-effective. Perhaps it is getting past the mindset that adding chiropractic benefits is going to increase reimbursement levels. Perhaps they cannot see that there would not be a cost increase but a cost savings from directing patients to more cost-effective portals. Allowing osteopaths to treat broken arms did not increase the number of fractures; it simply shifted the point of access to treatment. Likewise, allowing patients to freely access chiropractic services would not increase the number of spinal related injuries; it would simply allow the patient access to desired and more cost-effective services.
I imagine that BCBS of Kansas regrets releasing the amount of information they already have. There seems to be a reluctance to push the analysis of the data to the next level. It is now up to the profession to �hold their feet to the fire� and push for more data to support the fact that chiropractic can be more cost-effective.
“Lumbago Study”�reveals 38 percent of patients chose to seek chiropractic care rather that allopathic medicine. This fact shows�that patients desire and are satisfied with management techniques of chiropractic care.
Chiropractic Care & The Department of Veterans Affairs
The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) notes that for more than 10 years, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has included chiropractic services as part of the standard medical benefits package offered to all enrolled veterans. According to a new study conducted by researchers from the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, the use of chiropractic services and the chiropractic workforce in VA has grown substantially since their introduction over a decade ago. The annual number of chiropractic visits has increased by nearly 700 percent, thus demonstrating more veterans have access to chiropractic care than ever before.
�Our work shows that VA has steadily and substantially increased its use of chiropractic services each year following their implementation in late 2004,� states lead author of the study Anthony J. Lisi, DC, Director of the VA Chiropractic Program, and Chiropractic Section Chief at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. He adds, �VA chiropractic care includes evidence-based, patient-centered treatment options that are in demand by veterans and referring providers. VA continues its efforts to ensure appropriate access to chiropractic care across the whole system, but as this paper shows, the progress to date has been remarkable.�
Military Healthcare/Chiropractic
Among the multitude of findings during an 11 year period, the study showed that:
? The annual number of patients seen in VA chiropractic clinics increased by 821 percent.
? The annual number of chiropractic visits grew by 693 percent.
? The total number of VA chiropractic clinics climbed 9 percent annually, and the number of chiropractor employees increased by 21 percent annually.
? The average VA chiropractic patient is male, between the ages of 45 and 64, is seen for low back and/or neck conditions, and receives examination, chiropractic spinal manipulation and other health care services.
Co-Author Cynthia A. Brandt, MD, MPH, Health Services Researcher at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and Professor at Yale University School of Medicine states, �Chiropractic care is an important component in the treatment of veterans with spinal pain conditions. The trends we identified provide a foundation for further research to examine the optimal models of care delivery for patients.�
The study notes: �Our results indicate that VA chiropractic clinics saw a greater percentage of female and younger patients compared with the national VA outpatient population. This demographic tendency is consistent with the cohort of veterans from the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is known to have a high prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions.�
An Army report recommended the use of alternatives to pain drugs, including chiropractic care, massage and acupuncture. Here, Dr. Frank Lawler gives Spc. David Ash chiropractic treatment, January 7, 2011, in Tacoma, Washington. (Mark Harrison/Seattle Times/MCT)
Veterans With Back Pain
�The growing utilization of chiropractic services among veterans for pain management and other health concerns, particularly those in the Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn and older adult populations, showcases the clear-cut demand for chiropractic care and is a direct reflection of the improved clinical outcomes and high patient satisfaction scores that have been documented previously,� says Sherry McAllister, DC, executive vice president, F4CP. �We commend VA for its participation in ongoing chiropractic research to help further improve the health and well-being of our respected and valued veterans.�
The authors also state that the growth in VA chiropractic use has occurred without additional laws mandating expansion. This suggests an increasing recognition of the value of chiropractic care in VA. In a recent editorial, VA Under Secretary for Health, David J. Shulkin, MD, cited VA�s chiropractic program as one example of the important health care expertise provided to veterans.
Doctors of chiropractic (DCs) � who receive a minimum of seven years of higher level education � provide non-operative management of conditions such as headaches, back pain, neck pain, or pain in joints, via a comprehensive approach including manual techniques and active rehabilitation. Chiropractic services are integrated with primary care, specialty clinics and rehabilitation, and provide a non-pharmacologic option for pain management, as well as general health and wellness concerns.
About Foundation for Chiropractic Progress:
A not-for-profit organization, the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) informs and educates the general public about the value of chiropractic care. Visit www.f4cp.com or call 866-901-F4CP (3427). Social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160620005430/en/
Substantial Growth in the Use of Chiropractic Care by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) notes that for more than 10 years, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has included chiropractic services as part of the standard medical benefits package offered to all enrolled veterans.
The goals of the chiropractic treatment of a thoracic disc herniation are to reduce pain and dysfunction while the body heals itself.
Since most disc extrusions naturally regress in a few months, chiropractors will attempt to reduce the pain and pressure caused by the disc herniation. Chiropractic treatment of a thoracic disc herniation may include one or a combination of the following:
Some chiropractors will recommend nutritional support, such as proteolytic enzymes, to reduce the pain and swelling associated with a disc herniation.
More Chiropractic Treatments for Upper Back Problems
In addition to joint dysfunction, myofascial pain syndrome, and thoracic herniated disc, which have already been reviewed in this article, chiropractic care may be a treatment option for additional upper back problems, such as thoracic joint dysfunction, thoracic outlet syndrome, and shoulder dysfunction related to the upper spine.
Will your back pain become chronic?
Joint dysfunction
The thoracic spine is a marvel of joint interaction and complex motion patterns. Composed of a total of 220 separate joints,1 it makes up the lion�s share of the 313 total joints in the entire spine. With this many interactive articulations it is easy to see that maintaining normal joint function, motion, and position is important. Chiropractors treat thoracic joint dysfunction with chiropractic adjustments.
There are a variety of chiropractic-adjustment techniques that can be used to adjust a dysfunctional joint:
Most chiropractors employ manual adjusting techniques that utilize precise thrusting adjustments to help normalize joint function.
Chiropractors can also use softer directional adjusting techniques or adjusting instruments to accommodate the needs of the patient.
Thoracic outlet syndrome
Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a disorder in which the nerves of the brachial plexus and blood vessels are compressed. This compression can cause great pain and altered sensations such as a �pins and needles� sensation in the hands.
Treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome can include stretching, manual trigger-point therapy, and myofascial anchor-and-stretch release techniques to the affected muscles. Chiropractors may also include adjustments and postural instruction.
Thoracic/shoulder dysfunction
The function of the shoulder and the upper back are interrelated. Studies have shown that thrusting manipulations applied to the thoracic spine and ribs have reduced shoulder pain and dysfunction. Chiropractic adjustments to the thoracic region can be beneficial to certain types of shoulder dysfunction.
There are many causes and treatment options for thoracic spine disorders. Chiropractors have a wide range of treatment options for treating these conditions. Chiropractors are increasingly joining collaborative spinal care teams as a drug-free option for treating spinal and musculoskeletal conditions.
The thoracic spine is a marvel of joint interaction and complex motion patterns. Composed of a total of 220 separate joints, it makes up the lion�s share of the 313 total joints in the entire spine. �It’s easy to see that maintaining normal joint function, motion, and position is important. Chiropractors treat thoracic joint dysfunction with chiropractic adjustments.
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Most people don�t go to a 
Curl-ups train the rectus abdominus, the long abdominal muscle that runs vertically from your breastbone all the way down on both sides of your bellybutton.
The side bridge, also called the side plank, trains the quadratus lumborum, lateral obliques, and transverse abdominus muscles, all local muscles that help stabilize the�spine.
This exercise is great for training the back extensors, including the longissimus, iliocostalis and multifidii.
