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Chiropractic Care Effective for Veteran Disability

Chiropractic Care Effective for Veteran Disability - El Paso Chiropractor
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A majority of individuals often prefer finding alternative therapies to achieve relief from their pain without the use of medications and chiropractic care is often the favored choice.

Many clinicians at the VA frequently argue whether chiropractic treatment methods, such as spinal adjustments and manual manipulations, are actually effective towards improving injuries and conditions causing chronic back pain. A new research was conducted to determine the effects chiropractic care had with chronic pain symptoms. While the study concluded that spinal adjustments and manual manipulations were similarly as effective as placebo for pain relief, the study did find that individuals demonstrated an increased improvement in disability at 12 weeks after receiving consistent chiropractic treatment, according to a report published in the journal, “Geriatric Orthopedic Surgery & Rehabilitation”.

Veterans with Back Pain



With the contribution of Paul Dougherty, DC, a staff chiropractor at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center in upstate New York, the authors of the study described that the almost identical improvements between the individuals of the different study groups suggested the presence of a non-specific therapeutic effect from the treatments.

For the study, researchers classified 136 veterans, 65 years old or older, with lower back pain whom had never received chiropractic treatment. The individuals were then divided into two separate groups, with 69 of the veterans receiving spinal adjustments and manual manipulations.

Dougherty explained, “spinal manipulative therapy, or SMT, is where you take a joint to its end range. When you crack your knuckles and squeeze them together, you hear the pop. That pop is the joint changing pressure. SMT is basically doing that, taking a joint that isn’t moving enough and trying to maneuver it to where it moves normally again and changes pressure.”

The other 67 veterans participating in the study were enrolled in a procedure known as sham intervention, where a water-based ultrasound gel is spread across the lower back while the individuals lay face down, followed by the chiropractor rubbing a detuned ultrasound machine across the affected area for approximately 10 minutes. The ultrasound machine made noise but did not transmit any sound waves.

Additionally, the participating veterans from both groups were given an educational pamphlet from the Arthritis Foundation on different varieties of back pain and other symptoms.

After four weeks of twice-a-week treatment, the individuals were evaluated on the fifth week to rate their pain on a standardized scale. Both groups showed comparable pain improvement. Paul Dougherty explained that pain is perception-based, originating equally from the mind as it does from the body, but that disability is a better measure of effectiveness. Dougherty quoted, “Twice a week for four weeks, we met with these patients. We talked to them about their pain. They were touched in a caring and meaningful way. It comes down to this: If people believe they’re going to get better, it changes the way they thing about pain.”

Chiropractic care started being offered at a limited number of Veterans Affairs Medical Clinics in 2004. In 2009, the VHA announced a directive to further accommodate chiropractic care into the healthcare system based on congressional action. According to the American Chiropractic Association, or ACA, chiropractic care is now being provided at 47 major VA treatment facilities.

In a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committee, the ACA indicated that a tremendous majority of America’s eligible veterans had been denied access to the services supplied by chiropractors due to the VA being unable to provide effective action to offer access to chiropractic care at approximately 100 additional VA treatment facilities. The group also mentioned its plan to push for the reintroduction of a bill in Congress to implement chiropractic treatment at all major Veterans Affairs facilities.

By Dr. Alex Jimenez


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The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional, licensed physician, and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified health care professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and support, directly or indirectly, our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to contact us. Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN* email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com phone: 915-850-0900 Licensed in: Texas & New Mexico*