Chiropractic care: Evidence of efficacy through practice-based outcomes research

Objectives: Evaluate changes in pain and quality of life in subjects receiving ongoing chiropractic care. Methods: A prospective cohort study of subjects receiving chiropractic care at an outpatient CAM clinic who had; entry pain level > 2, completed SF-12v2®, and at least 1 consistent medical complaint. Data collected from Numeric Pain Analogue Scale (NPAS) and SF-12v2® Health Outcomes Survey was analyzed among the 1st, 4th and 8th treatments and ICD-9 codes tracked the medical complaint. Results: A Significant reduction in pain was observed when comparing visit 1 to visits 4 and 8 (p < 0.001) but not when comparing visit 4 to 8. Improvements in the SF-12v2® subscale of Bodily Pain (p < 0.001), correlated well with the NPAS and improvements in Role Physical (p < 0.05) and General Health (p < 0.05) were noted between visits 1 and 4. The greatest degree of improvement was observed between visits 1 and 4 (37 day average) with no additional improvements noted by visit eight (51day average). Conclusions: The greatest reduction in pain and improvements to quality of life in subjects who utilized chiropractic care may occur in the early stages (visits 1 to 4) of treatment. Continued care (visits 4-8) may sustain initial pain reduction in the absence of additional improvements to quality of life or pain level. Outcomes research may advise patients of the potential prognosis of chiropractic care and identify trends which inform researchers in designing appropriate randomized controlled trials.