American Chiropractor

The ACA has shared the chiropractic profession’s enthusiasm for positive public relations for many years. In fact, no organization has done as much for positioning doctors of chiropractic as health and wellness experts in the eyes of the public as the ACA has.

Below you’ll find some historical highlights of ACA’s public relations efforts since August of 2003.

Articles featuring ACA spokespersons in major publications are not only informative, they help to place doctors of chiropractic as health and wellness experts in the eyes of the public. Interview opportunities such as these are made possible in part by the helpful health tips and information ACA supplies to the mass media, whether on backpack safety, snow shoveling, posture, or other important issues.

• • May 2004: Woman’s World Features Touching Chiropractic Success Story
    Woman’s World magazine published a moving story of a woman who found relief from trigeminal neuralgia – a painful condition that made her unable to smile – thanks to chiropractic care. Woman’s World published the story in its May 11, 2004 issue after contacting the ACA for information. In the article, ACA national spokesperson Jerome McAndrews, DC, provides a list of not-so-obvious ailments that chiropractic has been shown to improve. The article also provides ACA’s Web address, through which prospective patients can locate ACA members like you in their communities.

• • May 2004: Delicious Living Urges Readers to ‘Consider Chiropractic Care’
    Delicious Living magazine quotes Dr. McAndrews in a May 2004 article titled “6 Natural Ways to Beat Back Pain.” Among the six recommendations provided in the article is the suggestion that readers “consider chiropractic care.” Dr. McAndrews helps to explain chiropractic in layperson’s terms.

• • April 2004: Newsweek Contacts ACA, Exposes Dangers of Unnecessary Back Surgeries
    In its April 26 issue, Newsweek published a thought-provoking cover story on the unfortunate proliferation of unnecessary back surgeries. The story, titled “The Great Back Debate,” discusses a variety of alternatives to traditional medical intervention for back pain. The article explains that chiropractic care is the most popular non-surgical option for treating back pain, and that many patients find relief thanks to chiropractic. Prior to publishing the article, Newsweek contacted ACA to obtain facts for the piece.

• • March 2004: Journal of Quality Health Care Agrees to Publish ACA Response to Negative Article
    The Journal of Quality Health Care (JQHC), a peer-reviewed publication of the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians, has agreed to publish ACA’s official response to a “biased and misleading” article in the journal’s January/March 2004 issue. In the article, Preston H. Long, PhD, attempts to draw a connection between spinal manipulation and stroke while downplaying the efficacy of the treatment. The April/June 2004 issue of JQHC will contain ACA’s response, which criticizes Long for disregarding “a plethora of research supporting the efficacy and safety of spinal manipulation.”

• • February 2004: ACA Discusses Chiropractic & Aging in Washington Post
    ACA spokesperson Jerome McAndrews, DC, is quoted in the February 3, 2004 edition of the Washington Post in an article about height loss as a result of aging. ACA media relations staff arranged the interview earlier this month. The article’s author explains that, “Chiropractic may also be able to stop or reverse height loss.” The complete article, including the quotes.

• • January 2004: CBS Early Show Relies on ACA Tips for Segment on Better Sleep
    The CBS Early Show contacted the ACA this month in search of tips on how to get a good night’s sleep. In addition to utilizing ACA’s information in the program, the CBS Early Show’s Web site also provided a link to ACA’s sleep tips, which can be found.

• • December 2003: ACA Speaks on Baltimore’s WBAL Radio about the Physical Strains of Holiday Shopping
    WBAL Radio in Baltimore interviewed ACA’s national spokesperson, Dr. Jerome McAndrews, on-air about ways to stay safe and healthy during the frantic holiday shopping season. The interview resulted from ACA’s news release on holiday safety tips.

• November 2003: Reader’s Digest Wellness Guide Directs Readers to ACA
  Page 6 of the November 2003 issue of Reader’s Digest directs its multitude of readers to the Reader’s Digest’s online “Staying Well Resource Guide,” which includes ACA’s Web address and toll-free phone number. Consumers who logon to ACA’s Web site or call ACA’s toll-free number can quickly and easily located ACA members-like you-in their communities. The guide also lists ACA as one of a handful of health organizations offering health information and consumer tips to the public.

Although doctors of chiropractic (DCs) care for more than just back pain, many patients visit DCs looking for relief from this pervasive condition.

Thirty-one million Americans have low back pain at any given time (1). One half of all working Americans admit to having back symptoms each year (2). One third of all Americans over age 18 had a back problem in the past five years severe enough for them to seek professional help (3). And the cost of this care is estimated to be a staggering $50 Billion yearly–and that’s just for the more easily identified costs! (4).

These are just some of the astounding facts about Americans and their miserable backs! Is there any wonder why some experts estimate that as many as 80% of all of us will experience a back problem at some time in our lives? (5).

Because back problems are this common it’s probably going to happen to you too! Shouldn’t you find out what to do about it before it happens rather than after? Why wait until you’re hurting to learn about your treatment options?

When you’re hurting you may not give this important decision the time and attention it needs to make the best choice. Here are the facts about manipulation as a treatment for back problems:

Manipulation is one of several established forms of treatment used for back problems. Used primarily by Doctors of Chiropractic (DCs) for the last century, manipulation has been largely ignored by most others in the health care community until recently. Now, with today’s growing emphasis on treatment and cost effectiveness, manipulation is receiving much more widespread attention. In fact, after an extensive study of all currently available care for low back problems, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research–a federal government research organization–recommended that low back pain suffers choose the most conservative care first. And it recommended spinal manipulation as the ONLY safe and effective, DRUGLESS form of initial professional treatment for acute low back problems in adults! (6). Chiropractic manipulation, also frequently called the chiropractic adjustment, is the form of manipulation that has been most extensively used by Americans for the last one hundred years. (7). Satisfied chiropractic patients already know that DCs are uniquely trained and experienced in diagnosing back problems and are the doctors most skilled in using manipulation for the treatment of back pain and related disorders (8). As a public service, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) urges you to make an informed choice about your back care. To learn more about the federal government’s recommendations and how chiropractic manipulation may help you, contact a Doctor of Chiropractic in your area.

Doctors of chiropractic believe that prevention is the key to health and wellness.

Chiropractors Offer Help and Hope to Children with Attention Deficit Disorder

In the past decade, prescriptions for Ritalin, a stimulant medication commonly used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), increased five-fold, with 90 percent of all prescriptions worldwide consumed in the United States. As many parents grow leery of the traditional medical approach to ADHD, doctors of chiropractic are offering promising results with non-drug treatments.

Your Child Has Ear Problems?
Chiropractic Can Help Water, Water Everywhere…

Ear problems can be excruciatingly painful, especially in children; in other cases, a disorder related to the ear can render a patient so dizzy that simply standing up is a challenge. For some conditions of the ear, chiropractic adjustment/spinal manipulation and adjunctive therapies offer relief when traditional therapies have failed.
Americans are dehydrated. “We all know that we are supposed to drink between six and eight glasses of water a day, but very few of us do it. Everyone is drinking carbonated drinks and tea and coffee, instead,” says J. Michael Flynn, DC. As we learn more about the importance of water—and about the impurities or contaminants that it may carry—many Americans are thinking seriously about what comes out of the tap.

Chiropractic can help in many areas including:

ADHD
Arthritis
Asthma
Backpacks
Back Pain
Computer Ergonomics
Ear Problems
Gardening
Golf
Headaches
High Heels/Fashion
Holiday Survival
Hormone Replacement
Housework
Kids and Sports
Leaf Raking
Medicare
Musculoskeletal Health
Nutrition
Osteoporosis
Organ Donation
Posture Pitfalls
Pregnancy
Senior Fitness
Sleep
Snow Shoveling/Winter Activities
Soccer
Tennis
Travel
Walking
Water
Weed Trimmers

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.	How many doctors of chiropractic (DCs) are in my state? What is the ratio of DCs to the population in my state? Which states allow DCs to practice a particular modality?
A.	FCLB maintains statistics on the licenses issued by state. FCLB also includes a synopsis of each state’s Scope of Practice in its directory, which is available online. Contact the chiropractic association in your state for more information as well. Click here for a list of state associations
Q.	How many doctors of chiropractic practice in the US?
A.	According to a December 1997 report produced by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research titled, “Chiropractic in the United States: Training, Practice and Research,” there were approximately 50,000 doctors of chiropractic licensed in the United States in 1994. A recent study estimated that the number of chiropractors will double by the year 2010 to over 100,000 – far exceeding the 16 percent increase projected for medical doctors.¹
Q.	How many Americans visit doctors of chiropractic per year?
A.	According to results of a survey published in the November 11, 1998 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately 11 percent of the population had visited a doctor of chiropractic in the previous year.² According to the US Census Bureau, today there are approximately 288 million people in the United States.³ Assuming the 11% annual figure has remained unchanged, the number of people who visit a chiropractor every year is now approximately 31.6 million.

Evidence for the Effectiveness of Chiropractic

So what are the benefits of chiropractic, and what have others had to say about this area of medicine in the past? Let’s find out.

ANTHONY PRINCIPI
Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Sec. Principi talks about the “untapped opportunities” that chiropractic offers in speeding the healing of injured and disabled veterans. It was in January 2002 that President George W. Bush signed into law legislation that mandates that chiropractic services be made available to all veterans through the VA health care system.

An Investment That Is Smart

TOMMY THOMPSON
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
During an appearance at ACA’s annual reception on Capitol Hill, Sec. Thompson talks about the need for increased funding of and access to preventive health care services such as chiropractic. He explains that chiropractic is cost-effective because it focuses on getting people well and keeping them that way. “That to me is an investment, an investment that is smart and something we should be doing more of,” he says.

Freedom of Choice in Health Care

TOM HARKIN (D-IA)
U.S. Senate
Iowa is the birthplace of chiropractic and the home of Palmer College of Chiropractic, so it’s no surprise that Sen. Harkin has been a longtime supporter of the profession. He has come to the aid of doctors of chiropractic many times, including his efforts years ago to establish the Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health—where important research into chiropractic and other forms of alternative health care is conducted. Here he talks about the need for freedom of choice in health care…and the need for access to chiropractic specifically.

It’s the Cost-Effective Thing to Do

JIM RAMSTAD (R-MN)
U.S. House of Representatives
Growing up in Minnesota, which happens to be the home of Northwestern University of Health Sciences’ chiropractic college, Rep. Ramstad had a great uncle who was a doctor of chiropractic, and so it’s no surprise that the congressman is supportive of the profession. He calls chiropractic “innovative care” that can save the government money: “It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s the cost-effective thing to do.”

Appropriate Services

ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA)
U.S. Senate
As chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, Sen. Specter was an important ally to ACA in its efforts to pass legislation that would ensure access to chiropractic care for all veterans. He calls chiropractic “appropriate” services, and he says that “people who need chiropractic services should get them.” Most recently, ACA has been working to improve access to and reimbursement of chiropractic services in Medicare.

…They Want Chiropractic

NORM COLEMAN (R-MN)
U.S. Senate
The 51st Republican senator believes in health care choice for seniors. “Medicare beneficiaries should have access to the medical procedures they want…and they tell me over and over that they want chiropractic,” says Sen. Coleman. This is not surprising when one considers the number of people in this country that experience back pain. It’s a pervasive problem that costs billions of dollars per year in health care costs and lost productivity.

Focus on Results

CHRIS CHOCOLA (R-IN)
U.S. House of Representatives
A former business CEO, Rep. Chocola believes results should be the measure of a treatment’s worth. For Chocola, the bottom line is that if chiropractic can increase quality of care, relieve pain and decrease costs, Medicare beneficiaries and others should have access to it.

Perform at Your Peak

DEREK PARRA
Speed Skater, Olympic Medal Winner
Speed skater Derek Parra, who won both a gold and a silver medal at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, credits the support of his family and his doctor of chiropractic for giving him the strength to succeed when it counted most. Chiropractic, he says, helps him to perform at his peak in a sport where milliseconds can mean the difference between a win and a loss.

MANUEL RICHARDSON
Patient, Maximize Life Chiropractic
This patient began chiropractic care after a bicycle accident during a race. Racing was his passion and he was worried he would never be able to race again due to the injury in his back. He went to a well-known facility, Maximize Life Chiropractic (website can be found here: https://www.maximizelifechiropractic.com) and after only 6 months of regular visits, he was able to compete in another race, and came in 3rd place out of over 150 competitors!

What is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts which is concerned with human health and disease processes. Doctors of Chiropractic are physicians who consider man as an integrated being and give special attention to the physiological and biochemical aspects including structural, spinal, musculoskeletal, neurological, vascular, nutritional, emotional and environmental relationships.

The practice and procedures which may be employed by Doctors of Chiropractic are based on the academic and clinical training received in and through accredited chiropractic colleges and include, but are not limited to, the use of current diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Such procedures specifically include the adjustment and manipulation of the articulations and adjacent tissues of the human body, particularly of the spinal column. Included is the treatment of intersegmental aberrations for alleviation of related functional disorders.

Chiropractic is a drug-free, non-surgical science and, as such, does not include pharmaceuticals or incisive surgery. Due regard shall be given to the fact that state laws, as well as the nation’s antitrust laws, may allow Doctors of Chiropractic to utilize ancillary health care procedures commonly referred to as being in the common domain.

History of Chiropractic

The roots of chiropractic care can be traced all the way back to the beginning of recorded time. Writings from China and Greece written in 2700 B.C. and 1500 B.C. mention spinal manipulation and the maneuvering of the lower extremities to ease low back pain. Hippocrates, the Greek physician, who lived from 460 to 357 B.C., also published texts detailing the importance of chiropractic care. In one of his writings he declares, “Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases”.

In the United States, the practice of spinal manipulation began gaining momentum in the late nineteenth century. In 1895, Daniel David Palmer founded the Chiropractic profession in Davenport, Iowa. Palmer was well read in medical journals of his time and had great knowledge of the developments that were occurring throughout the world regarding anatomy and physiology. In 1897, Daniel David Palmer went on to begin the Palmer School of Chiropractic, which has continued to be one of the most prominent chiropractic colleges in the nation.

Throughout the twentieth century, doctors of chiropractic gained legal recognition in all fifty states. A continuing recognition and respect for the chiropractic profession in the United States has led to growing support for chiropractic care all over the world. The research that has emerged from ” around the world” has yielded incredibly influential results, which have changed, shaped and molded perceptions of chiropractic care. The report, Chiropractic in New Zealand published in 1979 strongly supported the efficacy of chiropractic care and elicited medical cooperation in conjunction with chiropractic care. The 1993 Manga study published in Canada investigated the cost effectiveness of chiropractic care. The results of this study concluded that chiropractic care would save hundreds of millions of dollars annually with regard to work disability payments and direct health care costs.

Doctors of chiropractic have become pioneers in the field of non-invasive care promoting science-based approaches to a variety of ailments. A continuing dedication to chiropractic research could lead to even more discoveries in preventing and combating maladies in future years.