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FAQ's About Chiropractors

Have side effects or problems been reported from using chiropractic to treat back pain?

Patients may or may not experience side effects from chiropractic treatment. Effects may include temporary discomfort in parts of the body that were treated, headache, or tiredness. These effects tend to be minor and to resolve within 1 to 2 days.

The rate of serious complications from chiropractic has been debated. There have been no organized prospective studies on the number of serious complications. From what is now known, the risk appears to be very low.It appears to be higher for cervical-spine, or neck, manipulation. The rare complication of concern from low-back adjustment is cauda equina syndrome, estimated to occur once per millions of treatments (the number of millions varies; one study placed it at 100 million).

For your safety, it is important to inform all of your health care providers about any care or treatments that you are using or considering, including chiropractic. This is to help ensure a coordinated course of care.

Does the government regulate chiropractic?

Chiropractic practice is regulated individually by each state and the District of Columbia. Most states require chiropractors to earn continuing education credits to maintain their licenses. Chiropractors' scope of practice varies by state--including with regard to laboratory tests or diagnostic procedures, the dispensing or selling of dietary supplements, and the use of other CAM therapies such as acupuncture or homeopathy. Chiropractors are not licensed in any state to perform major surgery or prescribe drugs.

In Oregon, chiropractors can become certified to perform minor surgery (such as stitching cuts) and to deliver children by natural childbirth.

Do health insurance plans pay for chiropractic treatment?

Compared with CAM therapies as a whole (few of which are reimbursed), coverage of chiropractic by insurance plans is extensive. As of 2002, more than 50 percent of health maintenance organizations (HMOs), more than 75 percent of private health care plans, and all state workers' compensation systems covered chiropractic treatment.1 Chiropractors can bill Medicare, and over two dozen states cover chiropractic treatment under Medicaid.

If you have health insurance, check whether chiropractic care is covered before you seek treatment. Your plan may require care to be approved in advance, limit the number of visits covered, and/or require that you use chiropractors within its network.

What has scientific research found out about whether chiropractic works for low-back pain?

For this report, the results of individual clinical trials and reviews of groups of clinical trials were examined. Sources were drawn from the National Library of Medicine's PubMed database; were published in English; and studied chiropractic techniques that were identified as such (e.g., "chiropractic manipulation") rather than some other forms of "manipulation" or "spinal manipulation therapy", may be delivered by certain other health care providers.

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