Archive for category: Uncategorized

Clinical Compass systematic review voted top published article of 2024 by Chiropractic and Manual Therapies

March 8, 2025

This review by Farabaugh et al. compared the costs of chiropractic versus medical care for the management of spine-related musculoskeletal pain in U.S. adults. The team identified 44 high/acceptable-quality studies and found that care provided by chiropractors consistently resulted in fewer downstream services related to opioid prescriptions, surgeries, imaging, ER use, and hospitalizations. Patients initiating care with chiropractors experienced substantially lower overall healthcare costs. Further research using higher-level study designs is recommended to corroborate these findings.

These findings prompt a reconsideration of healthcare policies and benefit designs. Given the growing recognition of chiropractic care’s role in the medical landscape, it is increasingly evident that chiropractors integrated into healthcare teams could yield substantial financial savings for patients and systems. To align with the evolving trends in healthcare, it may be advantageous for U.S. healthcare organizations, third-party payers, and governmental agencies to explore avenues for reducing barriers to accessing chiropractic services. By embracing this shift, we can enhance patient outcomes while optimizing healthcare expenditure for management of musculoskeletal pain.

This paper is available open access (for free) on the journal website: CLICK HERE Please read it and share it with stakeholders in your local region. This work was supported in part by the Clinical Compass and the NCMIC Foundation.

Clinical Compass is a chiropractic clinical and research collaborative that generates best practices research through consensus-based models. In addition, Clinical Compass maintains regularly updated evidence centers for 17 different clinical topics such as dry needling, opioids, and cost-effectiveness. To support the work Clinical Compass, please go here: Donate – The Clinical Compass

 

 

Citation: Farabaugh R, Hawk C, Taylor D, Daniels C, Noll C, Schneider M, McGowan J, Whalen W, Wilcox R, Sarnat R, Suiter L, Whedon J. Cost of chiropractic versus medical management of adults with spine-related musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review. Chiropr Man Therap. 2024 Mar 6;32(1):8. doi: 10.1186/s12998-024-00533-4. PMID: 38448998; PMCID: PMC10918856.

/by

Upcoming Interview with Dr. Michael Meier

In this upcoming episode, Dr. Meier will discuss how people move differently in the presence of (or in anticipation of) pain. Changes in motor control may play an important role in musculoskeletal pain. His lab uses a cross-disciplinary approach that combines neuroscience and movement biomechanics to provide new insights into the role of potential interactions between movement behavior, psychological factors and supraspinal mechanisms in the development and maintenance of persistent low back pain. We’ll touch also on fear avoidance and pain related movement avoidance.  Dr. Michael L. Meier is a senior pain researcher and group leader at the Department of Chiropractic Medicine at the University of Zurich. He received his master’s degree in neuropsychology and his doctorate in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Zurich, focusing on the processing of pain and nociception in the brain. In 2019, he received a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) to study the role of movement behavior and cortical processes in the development and persistence of low back pain. A hallmark of his work is linking research from different disciplines such as biomechanics, neuroscience, and psychology, shedding light on novel interacting pathomechanisms underlying persistent low back pain whose pathoanatomical cause is often unclear.

/by

Top 5 Chiropractic Science Podcast Episodes as of December 2020

Happy Holidays!  As you are enjoying your holidays, listen to the top 5 downloaded episodes of the Chiropractic Science podcast of all time.

#1 Brain Adjustments with Dr. Heidi Haavik

#2 Scott Haldeman, DC, PhD, MD: Pioneering and Contemporary Chiropractic Science

#3 Chiropractic Neurophysiology with Dr. Bernadette Murphy

#4 Evidence Based Practice with Jan Hartvigsen, DC, PhD

#5 Assessing Spinal Structure, Function and Intervention with Dr. Greg Kawchuk

[justified_image_grid preset=20 thumbs_spacing=15 row_height=275 height_deviation=20 caption_field=description caption_opacity=1 caption_bg_color=white caption_text_color=black caption_height=250 caption_title_size=16px caption_desc_size=12px caption_align=left outer_shadow=”0 0 7px rgba(0,0,0,0.1)” outer_border_width=1 outer_border_color=#333 middle_border_width=15 recent_posts=yes recents_description=auto_manual_excerpt recents_description_2=datetime recents_post_type=podcast post_ids=”186, 230, 117, 385, 273″]

 

/by

Upcoming Interview with Ken Weber, DC, PhD

Dr. Ken Weber is an Instructor in the Department of Anesthesia, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Stanford University. He obtained his Doctor of Chiropractic from Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida in 2009 and then completed a PhD in neuroscience at Northwestern University in 2016, specializing in movement and rehabilitation science. Ken’s research intersects clinical pain research and advanced MRI techniques with an emphasis on brain, spinal cord, and musculoskeletal imaging. His research aims to better understand the neural and musculoskeletal changes underlying clinical pain conditions, the mechanisms of treatments, and predictors for recovery. Ken is currently supported by a K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health. His previous funding has included the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the NCMIC Foundation, Inc.

/by

Upcoming Interview with Tue Secher Jensen, DC, PhD

Tue Secher Jensen graduated from the University of Southern Denmark in 2002 and has been working as a researcher since his student years. After graduation, he worked as a chiropractic intern and as a chiropractor for a couple of years alongside his work as a research assistant. In 2009, he defended his PhD thesis on the prevalence, development and clinical value of Modic changes in the general population. From 2013 to 2016, he was employed as a senior researcher and clinical associate professor at the Spine Centre of Southern Denmark and since 2013 he has also been employed as a senior researcher at the Nordic Institute of Chiropractic and Clinical Biomechanics (NIKKB). We plan on discussing topics such as: a) Getting the Bio back into Biopsychosocial; b) Distinguishing among asymptomatic vs symptomatic individuals with imaging (MRI); c) Disc herniations and sciatica – does size matter?; d) Modic changes (what are they and why do we care); e) MRI techniques and when to use imaging. 

/by

Upcoming Interview with Kevin K. Haussler, DVM, DC, PhD

Dr. Kevin Haussler

Dr. Haussler graduated from The Ohio State University, College of Veterinary Medicine in 1988 and completed a small animal internship in Sacramento, CA.  To further his training in the conservative management of spinal-related disorders, he pursued human training at Palmer College of Chiropractic-West and completed a veterinary chiropractic certification program in 1993.  He attended the University of California-Davis to attain a PhD focusing on spinal pathology and pelvic biomechanics in Thoroughbred racehorses.   Currently, he is an Associate Professor at the Orthopaedic Research Center at Colorado State University and is involved in teaching, clinical duties, and research into the objective assessment of musculoskeletal pain, spinal dysfunction and the application of physical therapy and rehabilitation. Please comment below if you have any questions for us during the interview. I might choose some of them for our conversation.

/by

Upcoming Interview with Drs. Kim Humphreys and Cindy Peterson

I am excited for the opportunity to discuss chiropractic research with Drs. Peterson and Humphreys in the near future. Cynthia Peterson, RN, DC, DACBR, M.Med.Ed. has worked as a chiropractic radiologist, researcher and educator in 4 countries.  She retired from her positions as Professor and researcher, Radiology Department, Orthopaedic University hospital Balgrist and Professor, Chiropractic Medicine Programme, University of Zürich in 2017.  She is currently a Visiting Professor for the Chiropractic Department in the Faculty of Health at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa and is the Quality Assurance Consultant for the European Council on Chiropractic Education.  Barry Kim Humphreys, BSc, DC, PhD, is Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich. He retired in July 2017, after 9 years as the first Professor for Chiropractic Medicine in Switzerland. During this time, Professor Humphreys was responsible for the development and accreditations of the chiropractic education program, research portfolio and teaching clinic within the university, medical faculty and teaching hospital. He has been active in research including chiropractic clinical outcome studies for back and neck pain, functional MRI studies of chronic pain patients and back pain in various gravitational environments (parabolic flight).  Please comment below if you have any questions for us during the interview. I might choose some of them for our conversation.

/by

Do Your Patients “Get It”? Ask Them to “Teach Back” or “Show Me”.

Chiropractic care can be complicated for patients because of its specialized terminology for assessment, treatment plans, symptom trajectories, and potential for benign adverse events.  One solution is for chiropractors to adopt functional health literacy, interactive health literacy, and critical health literacy into patient-centered chiropractic care. Health literacy empowers patients of all backgrounds to “read” and “listen” to their bodies, verbally communicate their thoughts and needs during the chiropractic visit, and access print and digital technologies to optimize their health outcomes. See here for our recent poster describing health literacy within the chiropractic profession (https://chiropracticscience.com/advancing-a-framework-for-chiropractic-health-literacy/). 

Based upon several U.S. and international consensus studies (2017), we advocate for chiropractors and D.C. students to use, implement, and practice health literacy competencies developed by Coleman et al. (2013 & 2017). We propose the adoption of a Health Literacy Curriculum (HLC) for chiropractors, because other health and medical professionals are adopting these competencies also.

The top consensus recommendation by the Coleman et al study (2017) was to use a “teach back” or “show me” technique with patients to check for understanding and correct misunderstandings, during the clinical visit and and during the informed consent process. In this regard, patients are asked to demonstrate their level of understanding by repeating back in their own words the information the professional has communicated to them.  To learn more about the other health literacy recommendations, please look at our poster or visit the link below to the Coleman study.

References:

Coleman, C., Hudson, S., & Pederson, B. (2017). Prioritized health literacy and clear communication practices for health care professionals. HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice, 1(3): e91-e99 https://doi.org/10.3928/24748307-20170503-01

Coleman, C. A., Hudson, S., & Maine, L.L. (2013). Health literacy practices and educational competencies for health professionals: a consensus study.Journal of Health communication,18 Suppl 1(Suppl 1), 82-102.

/by

An Introduction to Chiropractic Science

This video is an introduction to Chiropractic Science – the podcast and the website as well as some ideas for how to integrate chiropractic science into your practice to reduce the evidence-practice gap.  

/by

Upcoming Interview with Dr. Jeff Hebert

Jeff Hebert, DC, PhD is a Professor and the CCRF/NBHRF Chair of Musculoskeletal Health Research at the University of New Brunswick, as well as an Adjunct Professor at Murdoch University in Australia. Jeff’s career to date includes 18 years of experience in faculty, clinical, and administrative positions in Canada, the United States, and Australia.  Most recently, he was the Associate Dean (Research) in Murdoch University’s School of Psychology and Exercise Science. Previous appointments include positions as a Senior Lecturer of Rehabilitation Science (Murdoch University) and Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery (University of Utah). He serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Chiropractic & Manual Therapies. Jeff worked as an outpatient and hospital-based clinician in multidisciplinary environments including as pain medicine, sports medicine, and spine surgery. Please comment below if you have any questions for us during the interview. I might choose some of them for our conversation.

/by