Chiropractic research

There are millions of people around the globe who have received chiropractic care and know the value of subluxation correction from personal experience. But the rest of the world dismisses chiropractics growth and patient testimonials as anecdotal evidence. “Where’s the proof?” they ask.

Unfortunately, the scientific community has little in the way of studies proving the quality-of-life changes directly attributed to chiropractic care. Almost all of the available collection of scientific clinical studies suggesting the efficacy of chiropractic is directed at chiropractic as a treatment for low-back pain in adults.

The result is a false perception of chiropractors as limited low-back pain therapists. What the public hears is that:

“...there is no evidence that any chiropractic treatment works for infants and/or kids.”  (Healthwatcher.net) – or – “I am not aware of any chiropractic research that has led to any significant improvement in patient care.” (Stephen Barrett, MD)

Even chiropractic advocates recognize the problem and how it affects the public:

“The dearth of defensible information about chiropractic and chiropractors is still hampering our external ability to integrate successfully with the rest of the so-called health industry.... Let's face it. We have a massive fact deficit in chiropractic.” (William Meeker, DC, MPH, FICC, director of the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research)

“Whether the practice of chiropractic is of any value to the patient cannot be known with certainty until a scientific base has been established. ...It is clearly apparent that it would be beneficial to the public for the profession to systematically study the subluxation as it relates to the health of the patient. Chiropractic can be observed and measured.” (The National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research Association)

“The Committee believes additional research is necessary to further quantify the already‑known benefits of chiropractic care.” (US Senate Appropriations Committee hearings on ‘Health Care Access and Cost Containment Strategies’)

“Evidence of the value of spinal manipulation for problems other than low back pain is less extensive, and the role that subluxation (of other forms of joint dysfunction) may play in causing and/or providing relief through adjusting is uncertain.” (“In the Quest for Cultural Authority,” Joseph Keating, DC, et. a., Dynamic Chiropractic, December 16, 2004.)

“The claim that subluxation-generated loss of neural integrity influences ‘organ system function and general health’ is also unsubstantiated by currently available experimental data. ... Subluxation assertions may be appropriate as hypotheses (tentative assertions) and proto-theories (from which testable propositions may be derived), and deserve our critical attention by means of research. However, to assert their validity in the absence of hard scientific data is to engage in dogmatism.” (Joseph Keating, Dynamic Chiropractic, Dec. 16, 2004)

The solution – the ONLY real solution – is to conduct the kind of research that will thoroughly and scientifically explore the relationship between chiropractic care (specifically, subluxation correction) and wellness. The results of this research must then be reviewed by renowned experts inside and outside the chiropractic profession who have the credentials to author research reports and submit them for publication to major health journals and reports.

It’s not enough to conduct research only on manual manipulation’s effectiveness as a treatment for musculoskeletal conditions such as low-back pain. These projects simply reinforce the already misguided notion that chiropractic is a limited therapy that can be provided by medical doctors, osteopaths, naturopaths and physical therapists. If this continues to be the sole area of research conducted on chiropractic, it will be used as the justification for limiting the chiropractic scope of practice.

The chiropractic hypothesis is that subluxations have a negative impact on overall health and on individual components of wellness such as immunity, vitality, and well-being. It’s essential that research be conducted to validate that hypothesis.

To this end, RCS conducts syndromic surveillance on vertebral subluxation as the dependant variable -- that is, it conducts research to compare people's states of health before and after subluxation correction by a doctor of chiropractic. 

The ultimate goal is to develop a standard rating systems for the severity of subluxation and integrate it into the potential for multiple levels of subluxation. Given those benchmark systems, the next step is to formulate a regression equation relating all outcome measures and their impact on subluxation.  

This approach has become prevalent in epidemiology. It is, for instance, the process used for defining all significant variables contributing to the severity of sleep apnea. (Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, 3:24-30, 1999.) When completed, the equation will serve as the “gold standard” for subluxation.

By building a database of findings from hundreds of thousands of chiropractic research subjects throughout the world, a detailed analysis can be made that could reveal direct and distinct correlations between subluxations and states of wellness. The data could lead to ground-breaking and powerful conclusions as to the effect of subluxations and chiropractic on the human nerve system – and their repercussions on health.