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Crack Addicts: America's Addiction to Chiropractic

Every year, around 27 million Americans spend over $3 billion on treatment from doctors and practitioners of chiropractic, an alternative medicine with mystical roots. But is it really all that it's cracked up to be? Is it a hocus-pocus scam, or a misunderstood, groundbreaking alternative to drugs? We took a hard look at the medical evidence to find out if chiropractic truly is trick or treatment.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHIROPRACTIC AND ITS FOUNDER

Technically, Hippocrates (the founder of modern medicine) was the first person to document performing spinal manipulation as a type of medical care way back in 400 BCE.
Davenport, Iowa grocery store owner and self-proclaimed metaphysicist Daniel David Palmer invented and named chiropractic (from the Greek words cheir and praxis, combined to mean "done by hand") in 1895.
Palmer believed in vitalism, an ancient idea that health flows from a spiritual life force.
He called his version of the spiritual life force Innate Intelligence and claimed that all belief results from disruptions in the force's flow called subluxations.
Palmer claimed that he "received chiropractic from the other world" in a spiritualist séance from a deceased medical doctor named Jim Atkinson. The doctor had died nearly 50 years prior to Palmer's revelation.
In his writings, he named himself as the religious "fountain head" of chiropractic, likening himself to figures such as "Christ, Mohammed, and Joseph Smith" among others.
He advertised himself as a doctor, but was arrested in 1906 for practicing medicine without a license.
In 1913, during a homecoming parade at the Palmer School of Chiropractic, he was suspiciously struck by a vehicle driven by his son, the co-developer of chiropractic, B.J. Palmer. He died less than a month later from injuries sustained in the accident, but not before filing an attempted murder lawsuit against his son.

BACK PAIN FACTS

80% of all Americans experience back pain during their lives.
Costs related to back pain add up to over $100 billion every single year in the United States.
Spinal manipulation has been proven at least "as effective as other interventions" for back pain.
Results suggest that the effects of spinal manipulation can last for back pain for up to 18 months.

CHIROPRACTIC BY THE NUMBERS

There are around 80,000 licensed DCs (Doctors of Chiropractic) in the United States. 77,000 of those perform adjustments and manipulations, while 3,000 or so serve in academic and management roles. In 1906, when D.D. Palmer founded the Palmer School of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, there were only half that many people living in the entire city.
There's nearly ten times that amount of M.D.s in the United States, with 826,001 active doctors practicing medicine in 2012.
California has the most chiropractors, with an average salary around $90,000.
Every NFL team in America has at least one chiropractor on staff.
8% (almost 18 million) of all Americans have had chiropractic treatment.
Around 3% (2 million) of all American children have had chiropractic care.

ST	Chiropractors	Chiropractors per 100,000 people	Mean Annual Wage
AL	340	7	$81,290
AK	90	12	*
AZ	870	13	$70,610
AR	290	10	$83,850
CA	2,360	6	$89,900
CO	900	17	$64,210
CT	150	4	$108,630
DE	90	10	$101,750
FL	1,860	9	$101,390
GA	950	9	$75,400
HI	50	4	$75,980
ID	250	15	$51,740
IL	1,610	12	$67,540
IN	600	9	$89,950
IA	540	17	$73,550
KS	450	15	$70,210
KY	350	8	$75,280
LA	270	6	$83,390
ME	200	15	$73,650
MD	460	8	$82,320
MA	410	6	$101,310
MI	1,330	13	$76,130
MN	930	17	$62,780
MS	110	4	$74,600
MO	550	9	$70,310
MT	190	19	$59,500
NE	390	21	$74,270
NV	360	13	$65,140
NH	80	6	$82,930
NJ	720	8	$129,010
NM	130	6	$86,520
NY	1,460	7	$83,970
NC	630	6	$93,140
ND	180	24	$72,470
OH	1,210	10	$98,180
OK	360	9	$70,630
OR	670	17	$66,410
PA	1,320	10	$76,880
RI	130	12	$68,920
SC	350	7	$100,760
SD	200	23	$78,410
TN	310	5	$87,050
TX	1,950	7	$58,370
UT	270	9	$59,840
VT	90	14	$58,460
VA	790	9	$84,130
WA	780	11	$65,770
WV	80	4	$83,430
WI	1,030	18	$78,940
WY	70	12	$74,580

BUT JUST BECAUSE IT'S POPULAR DOESN'T MEAN IT ISN'T DANGEROUS. HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIDDEN DANGERS OF CHIROPRACTIC:

In one study, 96% of all new patients received x-rays to determine their state of spinal alignment, while 80% of all returning patients received x-rays. Some researchers claim that this adds needlessly to radiation exposure and increases patient risk of developing cancers related to excessive x-ray exposure.
After treatment, half of all chiropractic patients report:
- pain
- dizziness
- numbness
- stiffness
- headache
Around 1 in 100,000 chiropractic patients undergo serious artery damage as a result of their treatment. You're nearly three times more likely to suffer an artery injury at the hands of a chiropractor than you are to be struck by lightning. [Odds of being struck by lightning: 1:280,000 and your odds of winning the Powerball lottery are 1 in 175 million.]
The World Health Organization has proved that chiropractic intervention has caused problems in the following:
Cervical region
- vertebrobasilar accidents
- Horner's syndrome
- diaphragmatic paralysis
- myelopathy
- cervical disc lesions
- pathological fractures
Thoracic region
- rib fracture and costochondral separation
Lumbar region
- an increase in neurological symptoms that originally resulted from a disc injury
- cauda equina syndrome
- lumbar disc herniation
- rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysm
Since 1934, 26 deaths from chiropractic have been reported. By comparison, the National Highway Traffic Safety Association demanded the recall of the Ford Pinto after instances of exploding gas tanks caused 27 deaths. - And in 2001 alone, 35 cases of neurological complications were caused by spinal manipulation, including 9 strokes:

Published case reports of deaths after chiropractic treatments
References	Year of publication	Victim	Type of vascular accident	Time between treatment and death
Anon	1934	Woman, age unknown	Tear in left lateral sinus	2 weeks
Pratt-Thomas and Berger	1947	32-year-old man	Thrombosis of basilar, left anterior-inferior cerebellar and right posterior-inferior arteries	24 h
Pratt-Thomas and Berger	1947	35-year-old woman	Thrombosis of posterior-inferior cerebellar artery	10 h
Anon	1955	Woman, age unknown	Intra-spinal bleeding and compression of spinal cord	18 h
Ford and Clark	1956	37-year-old man	Thrombosis of basilar, left-posterior cerebellar and left-posterior cerebral arteries	6 h
Ford and Clark	1956	No information provided	Thrombosis of basilar artery	No information provided
Smith and Estridge	1962	33-year-old woman	Infarct of cerebellar and brainstem	3 days
Lorenz and Vogelsang	1972	39-year-old woman	Thrombosis of basilar artery	58 days
Schmitt	1976	35-years-old woman	Infarct of brainstem	1 h
Krueger and Okazaki	1980	25-year-old man	Infarct of brainstem and cerebellum	48 h
Sherman et al.	1981	60-year-old woman	Dissection of vertebral artery	4 days
Ali Cherif et al.	1983	51-year-old man	Infarct of medulla oblongata	11 days
Nielsen	1984	34-year-old man	Dissection of vertebral artery aneurysen	3 h
Zak and Carmody	1984	53-year-old man	Left vertebral, posterior-inferior and superior cerebellar artery occlusion; cerebellar infarction	27 days
Modde	1985	26-year-old woman	Dissection of vertebral artery	1 day
Jentzen et al.	1987	51-year-old man	Infarct of cerebellum and brainstem	No information provided
Sherman et al.	1987	37-year-old man	Infarct of brainstem	3 days
Mas et al.	1989	35-year-old woman	Dissecting aneurysm of vertebral artery	16 h
Raskind and North	1990	47-year-old woman	Cerebellar haemorrheae	No information provided
Sullivan	1992	41-year-old woman	Haemorrhage in ventricular system	8 h
Haynes	1994	36-year-old woman	Dissecting aneurysm of vertebral artery, thrombo-embolism	No information provided
Peters et al.	1995	29-year-old woman	Infarct of right hemisphere	3 days
Klougart et al.	1996	34-year-old man	Unclear	Few hours
Haldeman et al.	2002	Previously unpublished legal cases	No information provided	No information provided
Haldeman et al.	2002	Previously unpublished legal cases	No information provided	No information provided
Dziewas et al.	2003	No information provided	No information provided	No information provided

BUT WAIT, CHIROPRACTIC DOES HAVE SOME CLEAR BENEFITS:

Sciatica: The European Spine Journal published that chiropractic adjustments resulted in a 72% (or nearly 3/4) success rate in treating sciatica and related symptoms compared to just a rate of 20% (just 1/5) success from physical therapy and 50% (only half) from corticosteroid injections.
Low Back Pain and Neck Pain: In one study, 272 participants were divided into three groups: Group 1 received spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) from a doctor of chiropractic (DC), Group 2 received pain medication, and Group 3 received exercise recommendations. Over half (53%) of the drug-free groups continued to report at least a 75% reduction in pain for an entire year after their therapy, compared to just (1/3) 38% who reported pain reduction among those who took medication.
Headaches (Tension and Migraine): Over 230 peer-reviewed articles show chiropractic's ability to help cure, prevent and ease the burden of headaches and migraines in people all across the globe.
Colic and Ear Infections: A 2012 study published in Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapeutics found that chiropractic adjustments greatly reduced colic and ear infection symptoms in babies and children.
Blood Pressure: Research proved that one upper cervical chiropractic adjustment had the same effect as two blood pressure lowering drugs. Patients also saw an average 14 mm Hg greater drop in systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure count), and an average 8 mm Hg greater drop in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom blood pressure number). By comparison, it can take eight weeks on average to achieve equivalent drops in blood pressure by significantly changing diet and exercise patterns!
Surgery Prevention: The Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that people suffering from back pain first try chiropractic before resorting to surgery.
Frozen Shoulder: Last year a clinical trial was published describing how patients suffering from the debilitating condition frozen shoulder responded to chiropractic care. Of the 50 patients in the trial: - 16 resolved completely - 25 showed 75% to 90% improvement - 8 showed 50% to 75% improvement - 1 showed 0% to 50% improvement.
Scoliosis: Chiropractic adjustments for scoliosis coupled with muscular rehabilitation techniques may help prevent the progression of scoliosis. In many case studies participants have seen up to a 10% to 30% decrease in their scoliosis curvatures!
Athletic Performance: Because it is so effective at pain-based and pathological conditions, one of the most overlooked aspects of chiropractic care is that it enhances personal and athletic performance. Studies have shown that it:
- Reduces inflammation
- Boosts your immune system
- Enhances pulmonary function (lungs)
- Decreases mental stress
- Relieves muscle tension
- Increases your energy level
Finally, studies have even proven that chiropractic patients experience "overall increased bodily function," which includes:
- mental clarity
- bowel regularity

So what's the final verdict? Well, it's up to you to decide – chiropractic started out with some questionable snake-oil roots, but it's been proven effective for a lot of people. The question is, do we only feel better because we're paying money to feel better? Either way, if it's the placebo effect or a powerful therapy (or both), Americans are clearly addicted to chiropractic.