Facts About Chiropractic continued...
Doctors of chiropractic provide effective, low-cost health care for a wide range of
conditions.

Studies conducted according to the highest scientific standards and published by organizations not affiliated in any way with chiropractic institutions or associations continue to show the clinical appropriateness and effectiveness of chiropractic care. One of the most recent, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health, stated emphatically that: "On the evidence, particularly the most scientifically valid clinical studies, spinal manipulation applied by chiropractors is shown to be more effective than alternative treatments for low back pain...There would be highly significant cost savings if more management of low back pain was transferred from physician to chiropractors."

The doctor of chiropractic is an effective source of preventative and wellness care.

The anatomical focus of the DC on the human spine has created the perception of the DC as just a "back doctor." Although this perception is not entirely incorrect, it is very much incomplete. Doctors of chiropractic are a highly appropriate resource in matters of work-place safety, stress management, injury prevention, postural correction and nutritional counseling."

The process of chiropractic adjustment is a safe, efficient procedure which is performed nearly one million times every working day in the United States.
There is a singular lack of actuarial data that would justify concluding that chiropractic care is in any way harmful or dangerous. Chiropractic care is non-invasive, therefore, the body's response to chiropractic care is far more predictable than its reactions to drug treatments or surgical procedures. Of the nearly one million adjustments given every day in this country,
complications are exceedingly rare.

Perhaps the best summary statement on the subject of safety was published in 1979 by the Government of New Zealand which established a special commission to study chiropractic. They found: "The conspicuous lack of evidence that chiropractors cause harm or allow harm to occur through neglect of medical referral can be taken to mean only one thing: that chiropractors
have on the whole an impressive safety record."

Chiropractic Professional Populations as Compared to General Populations in Selected States

The population of doctors of chiropractic in active practice in the United States is reliably estimated to be 53,000. The ratio of DCs to the general population, based on the Bureau of the Census figures is estimated to be one doctor of chiropractic for every 5,100 citizens. This compared dramatically to the ratio of medical providers to the general population as there are well over ten times more MDs than DCs. Thus the MD to general population ratio is approximately one to every 430 citizens.

On a state by state basis, the distribution of doctors of chiropractic varies somewhat. Following are figures of DCs compared to the general population for selected states.

IOWA One DC for every 2875 citizens
ILLINOIS One DC for every 4148 citizens
INDIANA One DC for every 7066 citizens
KANSAS One DC for every 3654 citizens
MICHIGAN One DC for every 5242 citizens
MINNESOTA One DC for every 2317 citizens
MISSOURI One DC for every 3512 citizens
NEBRASKA One DC for every 5408 citizens
OHIO One DC for every 6326 citizens
SOUTH DAKOTA One DC for every 3354 citizens

The statistics regarding the number of doctors of chiropractic in active practices in each state are based on the 1999 data on 'resident licenses' as published by the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards.
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