Doctors of Chiropractic undergo rigorous clinical and practical training, including at least 4,200 hours of professional studies, 2,000 hours in biological and clinical studies, more than 1,000 hours in specific chiropractic techniques, and at least 900 hours of clinical practice before graduation. DCs must pass a national board exam and be licensed prior to practicing.

Chiropractic is a learned profession which teaches that the relationship between structure and function in the human body is a significant health factor and that such relationships between the spinal column and the nervous system are most significant, since the normal transmission and expression of nerve energy are essential to the restoration and maintenance of health.

CHIROPRACTIC EFFECTIVENESS

There have been numerous formal inquiries into the effectiveness of chiropractic throughout the world. All of these inquiries found contemporary chiropractic health care safe and effective, and recommended licensure and government funding. The following is a list of studies and information illustrating the effectiveness of chiropractic care.

A study comparing medical and chiropractic care for treatment of identical back injuries found that
the number of work days lost was ten times higher for medical patients than for chiropractic patients. In
addition, compensation costs for work time lost averaged $68 for chiropractic versus $668 for medical
patients.
- Journal of Occupational Medicine August 1991, Vol. 33, # 8.

Spinal manipulation by chiropractors more effective than other treatments for low-back pain - The results of this intensive study of the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of chiropractic (initiated and funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health) showed that in addition to being cost-effective, chiropractic is more clinically effective than other accepted treatments of low-back pain.
- The Ontario Ministry of Health, Ottawa, Canada August 1993.

Research in Great Britain, conducted by T.W. Meade, a medical doctor, compared chiropractic treatment and hospital outpatient treatment consisting of corset wearing and standard physical therapy, for low-back pain. The study concluded  for patients with low-back pain in whom manipulation is not contraindicated, chiropractic almost certainly confers worthwhile, long-term benefits in comparison to standard hospital outpatient management.
  - British Medical Journal, Volume 300, June 2, 1990.

Chiropractic Patients in North Carolina Highly Satisfied. In this study, 4,438 adult residents of North Carolina were contacted by telephone. Of those interviewed who had suffered at least one episode of severe acute low back pain in the previous year, 13 percent sought care from a chiropractic, 24 percent sought care from a medical doctor, and 61 percent sought no care at all. The results of the study were that compared to those who sought care from medical doctors, those who sought care from a chiropractor were more likely to feel that treatment was helpful (99% vs. 80%), more likely to be satisfied with their care (96% vs 84%), and less likely to seek care from another provider for that same episode of pain (14% vs. 27%.)
-Spine, Volume 21, Number 3, 1996.

Florida Worker's Compensation Study, A 1988 study of 10,652 Florida workers' compensation cases was conducted by Steve Wolk, Ph.D., and reported by the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research. It was concluded that "a claimant with back-related injury, when initially treated by a chiropractor versus a medical doctor, is less likely to become temporarily disabled, or if disabled, remains disabled for a shorter period of time; and claimants treated by medical doctors were hospitalized at a much higher rate than claimants treated by chiropractors."

A 1992 review of data from over 2 million users of chiropractic care in the US, reported in the Journal of American Health Policy stated that, "Chriopractic users tend to have substantially lower health care cost."

Back Pain - Spinal Manipulation (what doctors of chiropractic do) is recommended as one of the proven treatments for relief of low back pain by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
-AHCPR Publication #95-0644.

Headaches - "Cervical spine manipulation was associated with significant improvement in headache outcomes in trials of our patients with neck pain and/or neck dysfunction and headaches."
-FCER Evidence Report, McRoy, Penzelen, Hassellblad Gray (2001).

"...For the management of low back pain, chiropractic care is the most effective treatment, and should be fully integrated into the Health Care System."
-The Manga Reports.

Numerous other studies have been performed - and continue to be performed - to further prove the tremendous effectiveness of chiropractic health care.

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