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CF 002: Research Information – Integrating Chiropractors Into Overall Healthcare System

December 21, 2017 chiropracticforward Chiropractic, Health & Wellness, Healthcare 0:22:26 0 Comments

We going to talk a little about Canada in this episode. We’re going to talk about small town healthcare. And we’re going to tell you about a great research project paper that is suggesting that Chiropractors have a lot to offer mainstream medicine.

In a recent article that I wrote, I mentioned how the Canadian health system was ahead of the American health system. Not in the traditional sense but, when speaking about the groundwork their government is laying in respect to the chiropractic profession and its integration into the overall healthcare system in Canada.

The American healthcare system is lagging far behind Canada in that respect.

Imagine that you live in a rural community.

Some of you actually do live in a rural community in the middle of nowhere so that won’t be much of a leap for you. Now imagine that your choice of healthcare practitioners is only limited to 2 or 3 medical doctors. In addition, imagine that one or two of the three or four doctors in town like to prescribe pills rather than actually try to deal with the root of a musculoskeletal issue.

As I shared in episode #1, I got hurt skiing….no x-rays, etc…

In a case such as that, you had better hope that the one or two remaining doctors in that town are rock stars when it comes to treating non-complicated musculoskeletal issues. Unfortunately, the chances are that he or she will not be a rockstar for musculoskeletal issues.

They may be excellent at dealing with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. However, research is clear that medical doctors don’t graduate medical school with a high degree of proficiency in musculoskeletal issues. We will have future episodes that compare some medical vs. chiro education and that shows what chiropractors can do when they graduate.

Saying that medical doctors aren’t generally musculoskeletal rock stars is simply a fact of life, not a knock against medical schools or medical doctors.

Now that the American College of Physicians as well as the American Medical Association have come out with updated recommendations that recommend chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage as first-line treatments for acute and chronic low back pain, the doors are going to be kicked wide open for Chiropractic to start shining.

Finally.

This is especially important for those living in small towns that are well-removed from larger cities with a wider healthcare practitioner selection.

With that in mind, I offer this latest research paper.

This one was published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. It’s brand-new (2017) and was published in November of 2017. The title of the paper is called “Management of back pain related disorders in the community with limited access to healthcare services: a description of integration of chiropractors as service providers.” and the lead author was Dr. Peter Emary.

Why They Did It

The authors of this paper wanted to attempt to evaluate the value of chiropractic service for back pain patients when integrated into the Canadian healthcare system in a multidisciplinary, primary care setting.

How They Did It

  • Canadian medical doctors and/or nurse practitioners began referring their back pain patients at the Community Health Center to chiropractors for treatment.
  • The information from their treatment was collected over a two-year process from January 2014 to January 2016 and consisted of questionnaires that the patients completed before they began treatment and at the conclusion of the chiropractic treatment.

What They Found

  • The questionnaires containing quality information were collected from 93 patients.
  • The mean age was 49 years old and 66% of them were unemployed.
  • 77% of the patients experienced their back pain for over a month and 68% of those described it as being constant.
  • The questionnaires used in the information collection process were the Bournemouth Questionnaire, Bothersomeness, and global improvement scales.
  • A significant majority of the patients treated with chiropractic care enjoyed outstanding improvement in their condition upon the conclusion of treatment.
  • 82% of the patients reported a significant reduction in the amount of pain medication they were taking.
  • 77% of the patients had no visits with their primary doctor while they underwent chiropractic treatment.
  • 93% of the patients were fully satisfied by the care they received while treating with a chiropractor.
  • And for the cherry on the top, the patients also completed a EuroQol5 Domain questionnaire and almost 40% reported better overall, general health improvement upon completion of chiropractic treatment.

Wrap It Up
To wrap up this article, I simply offer a quote from the paper itself,

“Implementation of an integrated chiropractic service was associated with high levels of improvement and patient satisfaction in a sample of patients of low socioeconomic status with subacute and chronic back pain.”

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I believe that wraps it up better than I could ever do it myself, so we will just end it right there.
Source material:

  • Emary P, et. al., “Management of Back Pain-related Disorders in a Community With Limited Access to Health Care Services: A Description of Integration of Chiropractors as Service Providers” November-December 2017(40), 9, 635-642

Just another reason to call a chiropractor TODAY!

  • Research and clinical experience shows that, in about 80%-90% of headaches, neck, and back pain, in comparison to the traditional medical model, patients get good or excellent results with Chiropractic. Chiropractic care is safe, more cost-effective, it decreases your chances of having surgery, and it reduces your chances of becoming disabled. We do this conservatively and non-surgically. In addition, we can do it with minimal time requirements and minimal hassle on the part of the patient. And, if the patient develops a “preventative” mindset going forward from initial recovery, we can likely keep it that way while raising the general, overall level of health!

https://www.amarillochiropractor.com/evidence-backed-reason-add-chiropractic/

I want you to be sure you know all about our blog and our YouTube channel. Currently, we have these entities set up under Creek Stone Integrated Care. Now, with the building of the Chiropractic Forward podcast site, how’s that going to change and how’s that going to look? I haven’t figured that part out just yet but know this, you can get your fix on all things chiropractically researched by going to amarillochiropractor.com and clicking on the blog button. Or, you can visit our youtube channel by searching Creek Stone Integrated Care in the YouTube search

Be looking for our upcoming website at chiropracticforward.com. It is not ready but it will be soon enough.

Thank you for listening. You know, sharing is caring and that’s how we get to more and more ears. If you like what you hear and you know other chiropractors or medical field professionals…..or even potential chiropractic patients….make sure you share our podcast with them. Together we can make a difference and help people get off of medication, get out of pain, and get healthier overall.

I’m Dr. Jeff Williams from the Chiropractic Forward Flight deck saying upward, onward, and forward.

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CF 001: The Chiropractic Forward Podcast Introduction – Evidence-Based,

December 14, 2017 chiropracticforward Chiropractic, Chiropractic Research, Evidence Based Chiropractic, Health & Wellness, Healthcare 0:32:30 0 Comments

Hey world. Welcome to our very first episode of Chiropractic Forward Podcast! It’s going to be better than stepping on Legos barefooted. Here in episode number one, we’re going to speak a little bit about what Chiro Forward means to me, why a podcast dealing with this is necessary, and why right now is the best time for the information we will be sharing here.

My very first Chiropractic Forward Podcast. Will Eventually have a dedicated website with material available but for now, you’re stuck with the newbie. But it’s good to be on the ground floor. It’s fun to watch things run their course and see where they go.

Stats On Veterans, Pain, And Medication Are Shocking And Require Urgent Action

going to revolve around a new article that came out on Observer this week and graciously shared via one of my favorite colleagues with Benton Chiropractic in Lampasas, TX, Dr. Craig Benton. The article was written by Ken Blaker, published on November 16, 2017, and called “Bandaging Veterans’ Pain With Opioids Is Proving Deadly, Must Stop.”

As a portal-of-entry practitioner, I believe that ANY chiropractor will quickly agree that the veterans we see are hurt. And I do not mean just a little hurt. I have a couple of patients that have fallen out of helicopters for example. That’s the kind of hurt I am referring to. These men and women have not only risked their lives, they (in many cases) have ruined their lives.

In the article, Mr. Blaker mentions an “overburdened VA health System.” I cannot tell you how many times I have mentioned getting x-rays at the VA. Or how many times I have said something similar to, “Have you seen your VA doctor about this yet?” These types of comments and questions are ALWAYS met with an eye roll and a dismissive, “Pffft.” They don’t like going to the VA because they don’t like waiting forever to be seen and they don’t normally like the treatment they receive when they finally DO get seen by the doctor.

Combine the increased trauma and stress they put on their body with sometimes very traumatic experiences related to combat and service, and you have a volatile combination. It is easy to see why our veterans are at an increased risk of abusing (and overdosing on) opioids. Now that the United States is in an opioid epidemic, we had ALL better start paying close attention to this group of people. Especially considering the fact that this article is quoted as saying, “Veterans succumb to opioid overdose-related deaths at twice the rate of the general population.” WOW!

Mr. Blaker has a comment in this article that I will likely carry with me for the rest of my career. The quote is, “Patients are entitled to the best treatments that do the least harm.” How lovely is that? It’s perfect when we are discussing weighing the risk vs. reward ratios for chiropractic protocols and medical protocols in regards to uncomplicated neuromusculoskeletal complaints.

As the article goes on to discuss, there is a wave in the medical community as a result of the opioid epidemic. The wave is more and more in favor of not only making it harder to get hold of opioids, but also identifying alternative, non-pharmacological treatments for pain.

The current President of Parker College in Dallas and former chiropractor to the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. was quoted in the article as saying, “Non-pharmaceutical approaches to pain should always precede pharmaceutical interventions. Chiropractic, acupuncture, physiotherapy, exercise and psychosocial counseling are all preferable starting points in treating pain.”

He is standing on tall shoulders when he makes this statement. As I have discussed recently on my blog, The American College of Physicians and the American Medical Association have BOTH recently published papers and articles supporting the use of Chiropractic, Massage, and Acupuncture FIRST for chronic and low back pain before turning to any anti-inflammatories such as Ipuprofen, Tylenol, or Aspirin. One more time just for good measure: two of the biggest entities in the American medical profession now recommend seeking help from a chiropractor, massage therapist, and/or acupuncturist before taking any pills of any kind.

A collegue of mine and former President of the Texas Chiropractic Association, Dr. Tyce Hergert in Southlake, TX worked back and forth for quite some time to attempt to formulate a very concise and repeatable script for how we could accurately describe what it is we do. Here’s what we came up with.

Research and clinical experience shows that, in about 80%-90% of headaches, neck, and back pain, in comparison to the traditional medical model, patients get good or excellent results with Chiropractic. Chiropractic care is safe, more cost-effective, it decreases your chances of having surgery, and it reduces your chances of becoming disabled. We do this conservatively and non-surgically. In addition, we can do it with minimal time requirements and minimal hassle on the part of the patient. And, if the patient develops a “preventative” mindset going forward from initial recovery, we can likely keep it that way while raising the general, overall level of oru patients’ health!

If you are a Chiropractor, feel free to use it. In fact, I HOPE you’ll use it! If you are a heatlhcare practioner of a different discipline, I hope it helps you further understand what we are doing and bringing to the table. If you are a patient or potential chiropractic patient, I hope it encourages you to keep on your path and spread the word about the Chiropractic Forward Podcast.

That’s it for episode one. Thank for listening to me. The first one is always the challenge and they say the rest is all downhill. I’m looking forward to where this can take us and take the profession.

I’d like to invite you, until the separate website is built and running, to visit my blog at www.amarillochiropractor.com/blog  There are LOTS of research-based blogs, articles, and papers we will be discussing over time. Don’t get in a hurry though….I don’t want you to get TOO far ahead of me. If you have ideas for future shows or have come across some great research that you think we should talk about, shoot us the information at dr dot williams at chiropracticforward.com We will also have future segments highlighting some of the email we get so send us emails and let us know what you think. As always, join us for more information at our home on the web, https://www.chiropracticforward.com

I’m Dr. Jeff Williams from the Chiropractic Forward Podcast flight deck, thanks again,

Upward, Onward, and Forward.