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The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) outlined the
inclusion of chiropractic services by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
as a portion of the standard medical benefits package which has been provided
to all eligible veterans for approximately 10 years. Researchers from the VA
Connecticut Healthcare System published a study in the Journal of Manipulative
and Physiological Therapeutics, conducted to demonstrate the substantial growth
in the utilization of chiropractic services and the chiropractic workforce in
the VA within a decade. According to the new study, the annual number of
chiropractic visits increased by roughly 700 percent, indicating that more
veterans have increased access to chiropractic care then ever before.
The lead author of the study, Anthony J. Lisi, CD, Director
of the Veterans Affairs Chiropractic Program and Chiropractic Section Chief at
the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, stated, “Our work shows
that the VA has steadily and substantially increased its use of chiropractic
services each year following their implementation in late 2004.” He added, “VA
chiropractic care evidence-based, patient-centered treatment options that are
in demand by veterans and referring providers. VA continues its efforts to
ensure appropriate access to chiropractic care across the whole system, but as
this study shows, the progress to date has been remarkable.”
Over an 11-year time period, numerous findings among the
study revealed that the annual number of veterans and active duty service
members treated in VA chiropractic clinics heightened by 821 percent. Also, the
annual number of visits to chiropractic offices increased by 693 percent. Then,
the study demonstrated that the total number of VA chiropractic clinics escalated
by 9 percent annually while the number of chiropractor employees expanded by 21
percent annually. And finally, throughout the multitude of findings within the
11-year period of the study, the average VA chiropractic patient was identified
as male, between the ages of 45 and 64, is seen for lower back and/or neck
injuries or conditions, and generally receives an examination, followed by
chiropractic spinal adjustments and manual manipulations as well as other
healthcare services.
Co-Author Cynthia A. Brandt, MD, MPH, Health Services
Researcher at the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System and Professor
at Yale University School of Medicine quoted, “Chiropractic care is an
important component in the treatment of veterans with spinal conditions and
pain symptoms. The trends we identified provide a foundation for further
research to examine the optimal models of care delivery for patients.”
The conducted study also revealed that VA chiropractic
clinics noticed a higher percentage of female and younger individuals as
compared to the national VA outpatient population. The statistical inclination was
consistent with the numerous veterans from the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan,
which was acknowledged for its immense predominance of musculoskeletal injuries
and conditions.
The growth of chiropractic service use among active duty
military members and veterans alike for pain management and other health matters,
specifically those in the Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom,
Operation New Dawn and older adult populations, represents the definitive
demand for chiropractic services. The incremented utilization of chiropractic
care is a direct reflection of the improved clinical effect and increased
patient satisfaction scores that have been documented before. Sherry
McAllister, DC, executive vice president, F4CP, stated, “We commend VA for its
participation in ongoing chiropractic research to help further improve the
health and well-being of our respected and valued veterans.”
The authors of the study also addressed that the increased
development in VA chiropractic utilization had occurred without additional laws
authorizing an increase. In other words, this action demonstrates an increase
in the recognition of value of chiropractic care in the Veterans Affairs. In a
recent editorial, VA Under Secretary for Health, David J. Shulkin, MD, sourced
the VA’s chiropractic program as a model showing the important healthcare competence
being supplied to veterans.
Chiropractic treatment is combined with primary care,
specialty clinics, rehabilitation, provide a non-pharmacologic option for pain
management as well as general health and wellness concerns. Doctors of
chiropractic (DCs) who receive a minimum of seven years of higher level
education, contribute with non-operative managing of injuries and/or conditions
such as back pain, neck pain, headaches, and joint pain, through a
comprehensive approach including spinal adjustments and manual manipulations.
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
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