What Can Doctors of Chiropractic (DC) Treat?
Illinois is home to over 4,000 DC’s who are physicians licensed under the same and regulated by the same laws and Medical Doctors and Doctors of Osteopathy. Chiropractic physicians specialize in musculoskeletal conditions (involving the joints and muscles, frequently involving the neck and back), but are able to treat any human ailment without the use of drugs or operative surgery. Examples of this are readily apparent in the sports world where drugs, surgery, and long recovery times can be detrimental to the athlete. Doctors of Chiropractic (DCs) are utilized by all 32 National Football League teams (Professional Football Chiropractic Society 2010 www.profootballchiros.com), and even the director of the US Olympic Sports Medicine Team is a Doctor of Chiropractic (Dr. Bill Moreau, DC, DACBSP, CSCS)
What Sort of Savings Can Be Expected By Including Chiropractic Coverage in Our Insurance Plans?
According to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, members with a chiropractic benefit had lower overall total annual health costs, and the back pain episode-related costs were 25% lower ($289 vs $399). These patients also saw lower utilization of plain radiographs, low back surgery, hospitalizations, and MRIs. (7)
How Much of an Impact Do Common Pain Conditions Have in My Workplace?
Common pain conditions within your workforce has been shown to increase costs and create an overall loss in productivity. Some studies demonstrate that the cost of lost productive time in the US workforce was close to $61 billion, and 76% of that was attributed to health-related reduced work performance. Data further revealed that 1.1% of the US workforce were absent one or more days per week because of common pain conditions. (19) Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work. In fact, back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections (20,21).
What Type of Education and Training Do Chiropractors Have?
The typical applicant for chiropractic college has already acquired nearly four years of pre-medical undergraduate college education, including courses in biology, inorganic and organic chemistry, physics, psychology and related lab work. Once accepted into an accredited chiropractic college, the requirements become even more demanding — four to five academic years of professional study are the standard. Doctors of chiropractic are educated in orthopedics, neurology, physiology, human anatomy, clinical diagnosis including laboratory procedures, diagnostic imaging, exercise, nutrition rehabilitation and more.
In total, the chiropractic college curriculum includes a minimum of 4,200 hours of classroom, laboratory and clinical experience. The course of study is approved by an accrediting agency that is fully recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.