“Natural First” by no means indicates a “Natural Only” philosophy. It means instead that, for many musculoskeletal conditions, providers should first pursue more conservative care without the use of drugs or surgeries. In a recent UnitedHealthcare Analysis, one in four patients suffered from a musculoskeletal condition (3, 4), and low back pain is the second most common reason for a patient to see a primary care physician (20, 21). With numbers like these, it makes sense to include a chiropractic physician as a potent and cost-effective musculoskeletal specialist on your patient’s medical team.
Additionally, DC’s are integrated into all 32 National Football League medical teams (Professional Football Chiropractic Society, www.profootballchiros.com), and for years the director of the US Olympic Sports Medicine Team has been a Chiropractic Physician (Dr. Bill Moreau, DC, DACBSP, CSCS). According to a recent Gallup report, 33.6 million U.S. adults seek care from Doctors of Chiropractic care each year. More than 1/2 of all U.S. adults have visited a chiropractor, and more than 1/4 of them would seek out chiropractic care first for back or neck pain.(1)
Chiropractic does not claim to be a cure all for the public’s every medical need. It is, however a cost effective, noninvasive form of treatment that has been proven to be as effective as other treatment options for musculoskeletal conditions—especially for back and neck pain. Furthermore, if the patient is unresponsive to chiropractic care, chiropractors work constructively with other physicians and health care systems by providing high quality referrals and surgical consults