Well-managed chiropractic care can reduce medical costs.

• A 1991 RAND Corporation study entitled "The Appropriateness of Spinal Manipulation for Low Back Pain" endorsed the effectiveness of manipulation in the treatment of low back pain. The study encompassed several areas including a comprehensive review of the scientific literature. A 1992 issue of The Journal of American Health Policy outlined a Medstat report which found that when benefit plans do not cover chiropractic care, costs are 43% higher with 58% more hospital admissions than plans which cover chiropractic treatment.
  
  
• In 1993, the Ontario Ministry of Health released a comprehensive study entitled "The Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness of Chiropractic Management of Low Back Pain." The study identified chiropractic care as a clinically and cost effective method of treating and managing low back pain. The study found that when chiropractic care was the first type of treatment used for low back pain, medical costs were reduced, less time was lost from work and there was greater overall patient satisfaction. The report concluded that the evidence from Canada and other countries suggests potential savings of hundreds of millions of dollars each year from fewer hospitalizations.
  
  
• In 1994, the federal government's Agency for Health Care Policy and Research released a set of clinical practice guidelines entitled "Acute Low Back Problems in Adults: Assessment and Treatment." In this study, chiropractors, physical therapists and other medical providers identified manipulation as the recommended course of treatment for low back pain.
  
  
• A study reported in a 1992 issue of The Chiropractic Journal of Australia showed that of 1,996 low back pain cases studied, patients receiving chiropractic treatment averaged 6.26 days lost from work versus 25.56 lost work days with standard medical care.

Bibliography

The following are additional studies which document the effectiveness of chiropractic treatment:

Anderson, R., et al, "A Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials of Spinal Manipulation," JMPT, 1992, Mar-Apr; 15(3); 181-194.

Dean, D.H. and Schmidt, R.M., A Comparison of the Costs of Chiropractors Versus Alternative Medical Practitioners. Richmond, VA, Robbins School of Business, University of Richmond, 1992.

Foreman, S and Croft, A.C., Whiplash Injuries. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1990.

Frymoyer, J.W., The Adult Spine. New York. Raven Press, 1991.

Gatterman, M.I., Chiropractic Management of Spine Related Disorders. Baltimore. Williams and Wilkins, 1990.

Haldeman, S., et al., "Guidelines for Quality Assurance and Practice Parameters," Proceedings of the Mercy Center Consensus Conference. Gaithersburg, M.D., Aspen Publications, 1993.

Haldeman, S., et al., Modern Developments in the Principles and Practice of Chiropractic. Appleton-Lange, 1992.

Koes, B.W., et al., "Randomized Clinical Trial of Manual Therapy and Physiotherapy for Persistent Back and Neck Complaints; Subgroup Analysis and Relationship Between Outcome Measures," JMPT, 1993 May; 16:211-19.

Man, Pran, et al., The Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness of Chiropractic Management for Low Back Pain. Ottawa, Ontario; Ministry of Health, 1993.

Meade. T.W., et al., "Low Back Pain of Mechanical Origin, A Randomized Comparison of Chiropractic and Hospital Outpatient Treatment," British Medical Journal, (1990); 300: 1431-36.

National Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Job Analysis of Chiropractic. Greeley, CO: National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, 1993.

Nyiendo, J., "Disabling Low Back Oregon Workers' Compensation Claims, Part III," Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, June 1991; 15(5): 287-296.

Schifrin, L.G., Mandated Health Insurance Coverage for Chiropractic Treatment: An Economic Assessment with Complications for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Williamsburg, VA: College of William and Mary, January 1992.

Shekelle, P.G., The Appropriateness of Spinal Manipulation for Low Back Pain. RAND Corp, 1991.

Stano, M., et al., "The Growing Roll of Chiropractic in Health Care Delivery," American Health Policy; Nov/Dec 1992: 39-44.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Agency for Health Care Policy and Research." Acute Low Back Problems in Adults." Rockville, M.D.; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, December, 1994.