4156 Better With Chiropractic Big mistake, suggests findings from the largest randomized clinical trial in chiropractic research in the U.S. to date.' />
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Dynamic Chiropractic – July 1, 2018, Vol. 36, Issue 07

Better With Chiropractic

By Editorial Staff

While chiropractic care is receiving high levels of exposure these days, most pain patients who consult with a health provider still do so with their primary-care MD. And of course, that means in most cases, they're receiving standard medical care, not chiropractic.

Big mistake, suggests findings from the largest randomized clinical trial in chiropractic research in the U.S. to date. Published in the inaugural issue of the American Medical Association's JAMA Network Open, the study by Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research (PCCR) investigators Dr. Christine Goertz, et al., in conjunction with the RAND Corporation and the Samueli Institute, evaluated strategies for the management of LBP in active-duty military personnel at two large military medical centers and a smaller military training site hospital.

U.S. active-duty service members with LBP from a musculoskeletal source s and were randomly allocated to receive either "usual medical care" or usual medical care plus chiropractic care for six weeks. UMC included self-care, meds, physical therapy and referral to a pain clinic. Chiropractic care included spinal manipulation to the low back and adjacent areas, and rehabilitative exercise, cryotherapy, superficial heat and other manual therapies.

Better With Chiropractic - Copyright – Stock Photo / Register Mark Chiropractic added to UMC resulted in moderate short-term improvements in patients' pain intensity and disability vs. patients receiving UMC alone. Specifically:

  • "Overall at weeks 6 and 12, participants receiving UMC with chiropractic care, compared with UMC alone, reported significantly lower mean worst LBP intensity within the past 24 hours ... and symptom bothersomeness."
  • "Participants receiving UMC with chiropractic care had significantly better global perceived improvement at 6 weeks at all sites."
  • "Participants allocated to receive UMC with chiropractic care self-reported significantly less pain medication use than those receiving UMC alone at week 6."

“This patient-centered, multi-site, pragmatic clinical trial provides the strongest evidence to-date that chiropractic care is safe, effective and can be integrated into multidisciplinary health-care settings,” said Dr. Goertz, lead author of the study. “These findings are critical as the United States health-care system looks for ways to implement existing national guidelines from groups such as the American College of Physicians and the Joint Commission that recommend non-drug treatments, such as spinal manipulative therapy, as the first line of treatment for low-back pain."

Published in JAMA's open-access journal, this study is available by clicking here.

Dynamic Chiropractic editorial staff members research, investigate and write articles for the publication on an ongoing basis. To contact the Editorial Department or submit an article of your own for consideration, email .

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