It came as a big surprise when a Gallup-Palmer College of Chiropractic report found a significant number of Americans think doctors of chiropractic have two years or less of higher education. The “Inaugural Report: Americans’ Perceptions of Chiropractic” revealed that most Americans believe doctors of chiropractic are not well-educated when compared to other health care practitioners.

Fact: A Doctor of Chiropractic earns a minimum of seven years of higher education including coursework in clinical patient management. Training is not limited to the spine as chiropractic physicians are also formally educated in clinical examination and diagnosis of the human body, with a focus on conservative health care interventions for the well-being of the whole person. The federal Department of Health and Human Services which oversees Medicare now recognizes the Doctor of Chiropractic at a physician level and continues to review the benefit of expanding services offered by the chiropractic profession.

The chiropractic physician is part of a leading, non-drug oriented health care profession addressing a common route to narcotic pain medication abuse, back pain. According to the National Safety Council, a recent survey concluded 99 percent of physicians prescribe narcotic medications beyond the 3-day recommendation guideline set by the CDC. A separate report from the United States Bone and Joint Initiative reports 72 percent of doctors prescribing opioids do so for back pain and 67 percent for general joint pain covering an estimated 126 million Americans.

While opioid pain medications may initially provide relief for those suffering with back pain, it does not treat the condition. Chiropractic services demonstrate positive effects for those with both acute and chronic back pain with a 4-year study demonstrating decreases of 43 percent in hospital admissions per 1,000, 58.4 percent hospital days per 1,000, 43.2 percent outpatient surgeries and procedures per 1,000, and 51.8 percent pharmaceutical cost reductions compared with normative conventional medical care.

A need for greater awareness on the benefit of chiropractic services and expanding coverage among all health insurers and government programs is desperately needed. The opioid prescription crisis and escalating health care costs require innovative changes with health care policy makers opening greater access to a proven, effective, and highly educated approach to back pain – chiropractic. A time for positive change is now.

Byron R. Folwell, DC

Parkersburg