Chiropractic Helps Health of Underprivileged Population According to Study

A study published in the March 2007 issue of the scientific periodical, the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, showed very positive results in health for chiropractic care rendered to populations living under the poverty line. The study was based in Canada and looked at patients who presented themselves to one of two community health center–based chiropractic clinics between August 2004 and December 2005.

The purpose of this study was to see if Chiropractic should be included in publicly funded health care in the Canadian system in Ontario. The study noted that presently chiropractic care is not available in the publicly funded health care system and therefore is mostly not available to those in lower income situations who do not have privately funded healthcare.

In this study, 324 patients with musculoskeletal conditions were recruited into the study, and 259 (80.0%) of them were followed to the study's conclusion. Participants underwent chiropractic care and were then evaluated for general health, pain index, and site-specific disability using standardized testing methods.

According to the study, "Clinically important and statistically significant positive changes were observed for all outcomes." This means that in all areas tested, the patients in this study showed improvement. Of equal importance is that in this study the results showed that, "No adverse events were reported."

The authors concluded, "Patients of low socioeconomic status face barriers to accessing chiropractic services. This study suggests that chiropractic care reduces pain and disability as well as improves general health status in patients with MSK conditions."