In British Hospital, Chiropractic Outperforms
Medical Care for Chronic Low Back Pain

In a head-to-head comparison of chiropractic versus medical care for chronic low back pain patients in a British National Health Service Hospital’s pain clinic, chiropractic care yielded significantly superior results. Improvement in pain intensity at week 8 was 1.8 points greater (on a zero to 10 scale) for the chiropractic group than for the pain clinic group, a dramatic difference. Disability scores (which measure the impact of pain on daily activities) measured with the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire also demonstrated a far larger benefit from chiropractic care, with a greater than 5-fold difference in the degree of improvement. These data measured effects through the end of the 8-week treatment period.

Wilkey A, Gregory M, Byfield D, McCarthy PW. A comparison between chiropractic management and pain clinic management for chronic low-back pain in a National Health Service outpatient clinic. J Altern Complement Med. Jun 2008;14(5):465-473.

State of the Art Reviews: Prevention and Health Promotion by Chiropractors

Chiropractors consider prevention to be a central focus in their work with patients, but practitioners vary in the attention they give to different preventive services. Exercise and nutrition receive the greatest emphasis, while other evidence-based methods – such as smoking cessation recommendations – are discussed less often with patients. This review and commentary describes current data on prevention and health promotion in chiropractic practice and discusses ways to improve delivery of preventive services.

Redwood D, Globe G. Prevention and Health Promotion by Chiropractors. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2008;2:537-545.

Safety of Chiropractic Care for Children

Because relatively little chiropractic or medical research is performed on children, questions remain as to the safety of pediatric chiropractic care. This retrospective records review on children under the age of three seen at the teaching clinic at Anglo-European College of Chiropractic in England found that out of 5242 chiropractic treatments, there were no serious adverse reactions.

Miller JE, Benfield K. Adverse effects of spinal manipulative therapy in children younger than 3 years: A retrospective study in a chiropractic teaching clinic. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2008; 31(6): 419-42.

Spinal Curves and Health

Controversy surrounds the question of whether the loss of normal spinal curves adversely affects human health in meaningful ways. The key point is that asymmetries and statistically significant abnormalities may exist without measurable and clinically significant impact. This review of the scientific literature concludes that there is not currently sufficient evidence to support claims that such a link exists.

Christensen ST, Hartvigsen J. Spinal Curves and Health: A Systematic Critical Review of the Epidemiological Literature Dealing With Associations Between Sagittal Spinal Curves and Health. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2008;31(9):690-714.