RESULTS RESEARCHED!
Parents should check the weight of backpacks. The weight of your childs backpack should be less than 20% of their bodyweight. Example of a 100 pound child should not exceed a backpack weight of 20 pounds according to the Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics. American Chiropractic Association recommends no more than 10% of childs bodyweight. Exceeding this amount will increase the likelihood of your children to have severe back pain. Based on these recommendations I advise my patients on a range of 10% - 20% of their bodyweight. There are things you can do to minimize this problem. To learn more click on the tab below to see the article...
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee
An important 2010 study evaluated low back pain care for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee’s intermediate and large group fully insured population over a two-year period. The 85,000 BCBS subscribers in the insured study population had open access to MDs and DCs through self-referral, and there were no limits applied to the number of MD/DC visits allowed and no differences in co-pays. Thus, the data from this study reflect what happens when chiropractic and medical services compete on a level playing field.
The researchers, led by an actuary, compared the costs of low back pain care initiated with a doctor of chiropractic with care initiated through a medical doctor or osteopathic physician. They found that costs for the chiropractic group were 40 percent lower. Even after factoring in the severity of the conditions with which patients presented, costs when initiating care with a DC rather than an MD/DO were 20 percent lower. The researchers concluded that insurance companies that restrict access to chiropractic care for low back pain treatment may inadvertently pay more for care than they would if they removed such restrictions. According to this analysis, had all of the low back cases initiated care with a DC, this would have led to an annual cost savings of $2.3 million for BCBS of Tennessee.
An important 2010 study evaluated low back pain care for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee’s intermediate and large group fully insured population over a two-year period. The 85,000 BCBS subscribers in the insured study population had open access to MDs and DCs through self-referral, and there were no limits applied to the number of MD/DC visits allowed and no differences in co-pays. Thus, the data from this study reflect what happens when chiropractic and medical services compete on a level playing field.
The researchers, led by an actuary, compared the costs of low back pain care initiated with a doctor of chiropractic with care initiated through a medical doctor or osteopathic physician. They found that costs for the chiropractic group were 40 percent lower. Even after factoring in the severity of the conditions with which patients presented, costs when initiating care with a DC rather than an MD/DO were 20 percent lower. The researchers concluded that insurance companies that restrict access to chiropractic care for low back pain treatment may inadvertently pay more for care than they would if they removed such restrictions. According to this analysis, had all of the low back cases initiated care with a DC, this would have led to an annual cost savings of $2.3 million for BCBS of Tennessee.
Chiropractic Treatment Saves You Money and
Takes It Away From Big Pharma...
Researchers have been examining the cost-effectiveness of chiropractic care among other natural alternatives (physiotherapy, acupuncture, massage) versus conventional medicine. A 2012 systemic review found spinal manipulation therapy to be more cost-effective for neck and low back pain when compared with general practitioner care, physiotherapy or exercise. A study in 2007 compared care costs of a patient under the direction of a chiropractor as their primary care physician (PCP) versus a medical doctor. After 70,000 member-months spanning a 7-year period, hospital admission costs were decreased by 60.2 percent, cost of days spent in the hospital were decreased by 59.0%, and outpatient surgeries and procedures were down by 62.0%. If these numbers were not astonishing enough, the costs associated with pharmaceuticals decreased by 85% when compared to conventional medically driven care. All of these comparisons were done in the same time frame, geography, and health maintenance organization product. To learn more click on the tab below to see the article...
Takes It Away From Big Pharma...
Researchers have been examining the cost-effectiveness of chiropractic care among other natural alternatives (physiotherapy, acupuncture, massage) versus conventional medicine. A 2012 systemic review found spinal manipulation therapy to be more cost-effective for neck and low back pain when compared with general practitioner care, physiotherapy or exercise. A study in 2007 compared care costs of a patient under the direction of a chiropractor as their primary care physician (PCP) versus a medical doctor. After 70,000 member-months spanning a 7-year period, hospital admission costs were decreased by 60.2 percent, cost of days spent in the hospital were decreased by 59.0%, and outpatient surgeries and procedures were down by 62.0%. If these numbers were not astonishing enough, the costs associated with pharmaceuticals decreased by 85% when compared to conventional medically driven care. All of these comparisons were done in the same time frame, geography, and health maintenance organization product. To learn more click on the tab below to see the article...
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"Find Out Why Chiropractic Doctors
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FROM: Proceedings of the World Federation of Chiropractic Congress 2001 Pgs. 255
Tuchin, P.J. , Bonello, R.
Objective: To assess the knowledge of Chiropractic students in orthopedics and neurology.
Design: A previously published knowledge questionnaire designed by chief orthopedic residents was given to a Chiropractic student group for comparison to the results of the medical resident group.
Setting: Chiropractic Research Center of Macquarie University.
Participants: 51 volunteers, between the ages of 20 to 47 were given the questionnaire in their first week of their final semester of their Chiropractic doctorate.
Main Outcome Measures: Students were asked to complete the entire questionnaire to the best of their ability within a 30 minute time period. The questionnaires were then independently marked by lecturer/practitioners utilizing the grading system published by the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
Results: Based on the marking scale determined by the chief residents, the Chiropractic group (n = 51) showed statistically significant higher average grade than the orthopedic residents. Expressed in other terms, 70% of chiropractic students passed the knowledge questionnaire, compared to an 80% failure rate for the medical residents.
It needs to be mentioned, for clarity sake, the distinct difference between the chiropractic and the medical participants in these studies.
The chiropractic group were still just 10th tri students.
The medical group had already graduated from medical school, and been awarded their MD degrees, then had completed all their hospital rotations, and had been accepted into a highly competitive orthopedic residency program.
One would expect that during their rotations, and other programs that they *might have* picked up a little more musculoskeletal knowledge. Evidently this is NOT the case.
J. Bone and Joint Surgery 1998 (Oct); 80-A (10): 1421–1427 ~ FULL TEXT
KEVIN B. FREEDMAN, M.D. and JOSEPH BERNSTEIN, M.D., M.S., PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Investigation performed at the
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia
A basic familiarity with musculoskeletal disorders is essential for all medical school graduates. The purpose of the current study was to test a group of recent medical school graduates on basic topics in musculoskeletal medicine in order to assess the adequacy of their preparation in this area. A basic-competency examination in musculoskeletal medicine was developed and validated. The examination was sent to all 157 chairpersons of orthopaedic residency programs in the United States, who were asked to rate each question for importance and to suggest a passing score. To assess the criterion validity, the examination was administered to eight chief residents in orthopaedic surgery.
The study population comprised all eighty-five residents who were in their first postgraduate year at our institution; the examination was administered on their first day of residency. One hundred and twenty-four (81 per cent) of the 154 orthopaedic residency-program chairpersons who received the survey responded to it. The chairpersons rated twenty-four of the twenty-five questions as at least important. The mean passing score (and standard deviation) that they recommended for the assessment of basic competency was 73.1 ± 6.8 per cent. The mean score for the eight orthopaedic chief residents was 98.5 ± 1.07 per cent, and that for the eighty-five residents in their first postgraduate year was 59.6 ± 12 per cent. Seventy (82 per cent) of the eighty-five residents failed to demonstrate basic competency on the examination according to the chairpersons' criterion. The residents who had taken an elective course in orthopaedic surgery in medical school scored higher on the examination (mean score, 68.4 per cent) than did those who had taken only a required course in orthopaedic surgery (mean score, 57.9 per cent) and those who had taken no rotation in orthopaedic surgery (mean score, 55.9 per cent) (p = 0.005 and p = 0.001, respectively). In summary, seventy (82 per cent) of eighty-five medical school graduates failed a valid musculoskeletal competency examination. We therefore believe that medical school preparation in musculoskeletal medicine is inadequate. To learn more click on the tab below to see the article...
FROM: J Bone Joint Surg Am 2005 (Feb); 87 (2): 310–314
Elizabeth Matzkin, MD, Major Eric L. Smith, MD,
Captain David Freccero, MD and Allen B. Richardson, MD
University of Hawaii and Tripler Army Medical Center,
Honolulu 96859, USA.
BACKGROUND: Basic musculoskeletal knowledge is essential to the practice of medicine. A validated musculoskeletal cognitive examination was given to medical students, residents, and staff physicians in multiple disciplines of medicine to assess the adequacy of their musculoskeletal medicine training.
METHODS: The examination was given to 334 volunteers consisting of medical students, residents, and staff physicians. Analysis of the data collected and comparisons across disciplines were performed.
RESULTS: The average cognitive examination score was 57%. Sixty-nine participants (21%) obtained a score of >/=73.1%, the recommended mean passing score. Of the sixty-nine with a passing score, forty (58%) were orthopaedic residents and staff physicians with an overall average score of 94%. Differences in the average scores for the orthopaedic residents compared with all other specialties were significant (p < 0.001). The average score was 69% for the 124 participants who stated that they had taken a required or an elective course in orthopaedics during their training compared with an average score of 50% for the 210 who had not taken an orthopaedic course (p < 0.001). When the scores of those in orthopaedics were excluded, the average score for the participants who had taken an orthopaedic course was 59%; this difference remained significant (p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Seventy-nine percent of the participants failed the basic musculoskeletal cognitive examination. This suggests that training in musculoskeletal medicine is inadequate in both medical school and nonorthopaedic residency training programs. Among the nonorthopaedists, scores were significantly better if they had taken a medical school course or residency rotation in orthopaedics, suggesting that a rotation in orthopaedics would improve the general level of musculoskeletal knowledge.
Studies Demonstrate That Chiropractic Doctors Deliver a
High-Value Service...
(ACN/UnitedHealth Group, [8], University of British Columbia, [9] and University of Calgary [10)
Two newly released studies comparing chiropractic and medical care highlight a central theme in current health care planning – the critical importance of having health care practitioners follow evidence-based guidelines. These two studies, one from Minnesota and the other from British Columbia, Canada, convey the same clear message – that when chiropractic services for back pain and neck pain are compared to medical services for these conditions in head-to-head competition on a level playing field, chiropractic consistently demonstrates superiority in effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. This was also the case in a recent Canadian study comparing outcomes for microdiskectomy and spinal manipulation in patients with low back pain with sciatica.
Mercer Health and Benefits (2009)
In 2009, Arnold Milstein, MD, MPH, of Mercer Health and Benefits, and Niteesh Choudhry, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School, compared chiropractic care to that provided by medical physicians, and concluded that, “When considering effectiveness and cost together, chiropractic physician care for low back pain and neck pain is highly cost effective, represents a good value in comparison to medical physician care and to widely accepted cost-effectiveness thresholds.”