Why Patients Rank Chiropractic Effective for Pain Relief
A recent survey of Americans conducted by Gallup Inc, revealed that a large majority of those who participated consider chiropractic care to be an effective therapy for pain relief.
5,422 individuals were polled, with 61.4 percent saying that chiropractic therapy is effective in treating back and neck pain. Another 52.6 percent of the survey’s participants also thought that doctors of chiropractic were trustworthy, and looked upon them favorably.
The statistics related to how many of the survey participants had seen a chiropractor for treatment versus those who had not broke down almost perfectly in half, with 51 percent having visited a chiropractor in the past in comparison to 49 percent who have never had the experience. A minimal portion of the group surveyed, about one fourth, responded that they felt chiropractic care was dangerous.
For chiropractors, these poll results, while not ideal, are promising in that they indicate a relatively larger upswing in public opinion about chiropractic care which until recent decades, had remained an obscure method of medical treatment sequestered to the alternative medicine category. The public perception of chiropractic care has been a focus of study for years and this new survey is one outcome of this research.
Leading chiropractic organizations look upon these results as a good report card that also shows areas that need improvement. Obviously, the fact that 24 percent of Americans view chiropractic therapy as dangerous deserves some attention and institutions like Palmer College of Chiropractic already have plans to address this issue.
One way to help inform the public further about the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic is to clear up misconceptions by publicizing the facts. For example, chiropractors like other medical doctors are required to pay insurance each year to protect themselves from medical malpractice suits, should they arise. However, the typical yearly cost of chiropractor for medical malpractice insurance is $1,200 to $1,500 a year compared to much higher sums for general care physicians. This indicates what insurance companies bank on when they do their business: chiropractic care is much less likely to result in malpractice suits than traditional medical care.
Another fact that many may not know about doctors of chiropractic is that they generally spend more time school than most other positions in health care services, with the years spent in training comparable to most physicians.
As far as the cost of chiropractic care, many people don’t realize that their heath insurance covers it.
Used under Creative Commons Licensing courtesy of Ryan Weisgerber