The above is a direct quote from a headline that appeared in of all places, the November 17, 2005, Medical News Today. The article, also picked up by UPI news and several other sources, was reporting on a new study published in the October 2005 issue of the scientific journal, The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT).

In this study 2780 patients with mechanical low-back pain referred themselves to 60 doctors of chiropractic and 111 medical doctors. These cases were reviewed for effectiveness of care and for costs. One of the articles noted that back pain care in the United States alone is estimated to reach $48 billion this year, and, at any given time, 80 percent of the U.S. population suffers from back pain.

The results of the study showed several interesting facts. With regards to the outcomes, the study showed that both the acute and chronic patients showed better outcomes in pain and disability reduction and higher satisfaction with their care after undergoing chiropractic care, as compared to medical care.

The costs of the care for the medical and chiropractic showed different results depending on the usage. Without adding the costs of any over-the-counter drugs, hospitalization, or surgical costs, when you simply compared the costs of in-office chiropractic to in-office medical care, the chiropractic care was slightly more expensive. If you then add in the additional costs for any referrals made by the chiropractor or the medical doctor, the chiropractic care costs for chronic patients were then 16 percent lower than medical care costs.

The authors of the study, noting that the satisfaction for the chiropractic care was higher, and the overall total costs were lower, made a concluding statement urging more chiropractic utilization in the health care system. They stated, “With their mission to increase value and respond to patient preferences, health care organizations and policy makers need to reevaluate the appropriateness of chiropractic as a treatment option for low-back pain.”

Over the next two weeks the pain increased and the patient sought medical care. A visit to his internist revealed the patient’s blood pressure to be 140/97. He was diagnosed with muscular chest pain, secondary to tachycardia (rapid heart rate) and hypertension (elevated blood pressure). Treatment was a prescription of a combination of anti-inflammatory drugs and beta-blockers. The patient felt that his beta-blockers made him extremely drowsy, and the anti-inflammatory drugs did not relieve his chest pain.

In spite of the medication, most all of the man’s problems seemed to worsen.  After extensive testing, all findings were deemed normal, and the internist declared that the patient’s heart and lungs were healthy.  Over time, the patient’s symptoms had progressively worsened to the point that the chest pain radiated sharply into his upper back as well. The pain was so severe that he was unable to sleep at night or perform simple activities of daily living without increasing his pain. Anxiety over the severity of his condition also began to affect the patient’s emotional well-being, and got to the point of precluding the patient’s active employment and most physical activity.

Finally the debilitated man sought chiropractic care. His chiropractic examination showed an increase in many reflexes and the conclusion was that the man had subluxations.  Chiropractic care was initiated at that time.  After only one session, the man immediately rose to a standing position after the chiropractic adjustment, he then took a deep breath and exclaimed that he could breathe much easier.

The patient was placed on a program of sustaining chiropractic care, initiated 3 times per week.  The study showed that the patient responded favorably to chiropractic, obtaining prompt relief from his symptoms. Sustained chiropractic care rendered over a 14-week period resulted in complete resolution of the patient’s previously chronic condition, with recovery maintained at 9-month follow-up.

Of those:
-63% responded to the survey by saying they were using some form of “complementary care”

Of that 63%
-31% were using chiropractic.

These numbers may themselves be grossly under reported as only 45% of the patients told their doctor about using the other forms of care.

What this basically means is that over 19% of the public who is seeing a rheumatologist is ALSO seeing a chiropractor. The thing is, less than half of these patients are telling their doctors, which means the number COULD be twice as high.

Possibly the most impressive statistic was that 73% of those trying chiropractic found it helpful.

The reasons given why people said they tried the non-medical care was to control pain, because they heard it helps, because it is safe, because it helped someone they know, and because their prescription medication wasn’t working.

Problems of Obesity

Even if you are not a person who is highly health conscious, it is essential that you keep a check on your weight and take appropriate steps to keep it in balance. Remember, along with obesity comes several health related problems such as abnormal cholesterol levels, heart problems, joint weakness, etc. So even if you are not planning on taking up the workout exercises for trimming or shaping up your body, it is essential that you include at least the basic workouts into your daily routine. It is obviously worth it to spend the few minutes per day to keep your body fit and healthy, thus to increase the longevity of your healthy life. In addition to this, the workouts will enable you to be more self-disciplined and in fact, make you fall in love with yourself. Apart from the workout exercises, you can also be additionally cautious about your eating habits if you are over 35-40 years. All physicians will state several valuable points in favor of practicing workout exercises.

It will be highly beneficial to realize the possible benefits of including the workout exercises into your schedule. This will in turn prompt you to get started with at least the simpler workouts. First and foremost, exercising will help you be guarded against the common ailments which creep into your middle age. For instance, joint pains in ex-players and individuals having the risk of hereditary heart problems and diabetics can reduce the chances or at least postpone the health ailments if they are involved in the workout exercises. What can be a better gift than staying trim and healthy even in the olden age?

As any physician worth his/her salt will insist, women need to exercise at least a little as their bones tend to become weaker with the onset of age (above 40-45 years). Apart from this, the chances of women struggling with obesity are more probable than men facing the trouble. If you are still not completely convinced, chat with a family member or friend who is overweight; they would narrate you all the health and psychological problems they have to endure.

It is an undeniable fact that most of us will be careless when we start putting on weight. It is natural to be not worried about losing those extra pounds when you are happy and satisfied. It is also obvious that you will start eating more than your routine. But remember, it will almost take double the time for losing those unwanted muscles, provided you are strict about your diets and workouts. But otherwise, if you are a regular exerciser then you are sure to be conscious when you gain weight suddenly and this will help you stay in control of your body.

Even if you are not comfortable about working out the exercises regularly, you can always choose the simple yet equally effective walking, jogging, and cycling. Nothing can be more pleasant than going for an early morning walk and warming up yourself for a fresh day.

The Massachusetts Chiropractic Society (Masschiro.org) believes that prevention is the key to health and wellness, and can provide some tips and guidance on health care maintenance for families this upcoming flu season. I’d recommend checking out their website to learn some more.

I want you to consider the following:

- In the U.S., asthma cases have increased by more than 60 percent since the early 1980s. Researchers don’t know why cases of asthma are increasing at such an alarming rate. Some say genetics and environmental exposure to allergens play a role.

- Asthma is a chronic disease; it can’t be cured – only controlled – and many people say chiropractic care can be helpful in treatment results along with care from an asthma specialist and primary care physician.

- Ear infections can be painful, difficult to treat, and account for more than 35% of all pediatric visits. Standard treatment is with antibiotics, but repeated doses of antibiotics can lead to drug-resistant bacteria in which case drugs do not help. More parents are turning to chiropractic care to help with chronic ear infections.

Some preventative tips to aid in keeping health this winter season are as simple as hand washing, using air filters in the home, and adding supplements of vitamin C.