By Dr. Holly Ruocco, D.C.

People who think chiropractic care is all about adjusting the musculoskeletal system might be in for a bit of a surprise. According to a worldwide survey of chiropractic patients, more than 40% of patient visits were initiated for the purposes of health enhancement and/or disease prevention.

This statistic comes from a recent survey aimed at finding out why people engage the services of a chiropractor. Researchers set out to explore the extent to which consumers seek wellness care from chiropractors, especially when their practice methods are known to include periodic evaluations and interventions to maintain wellness and to prevent disease.

Survey data on chiropractic usage was collected from 1,316 patients in 27 offices and clinics in the United States, Europe, and Australia. Each person completed a one-page survey regarding their reason for seeking care. "Optimizing health" and "preventing disease" were indicated by over 40% of the people surveyed as their reason for being in the chiropractor's workplace.

It was interesting to note that the results of the survey varied to a great extent from earlier findings presented by the World Federation of Chiropractic in April 2004. This survey indicated that less than 5% to 10% of patients sought care for non-musculoskeletal conditions.

One reason presented by researchers for this significant increase in wellness and disease prevention visits had to do with better patient education and awareness of chiropractic methods. Another had to do with the fact that the surveys were completed in the offices of chiropractors who practice a particular form of evaluation and treatment known as the Sacro Occipital Technique. Sacro Occipital involves a complete spinal evaluation based on research that all provable illnesses stem from a distortion or a partial dislocation in the back.

Researchers considered the possibility that patients in this setting could be better educated to the prevention possibilities chiropractic affords than other patients. If this point of the more informed consumer is indeed true, researchers suggested that Chiropractic educators and promoters should take note. Creating more awareness in consumers and emphasizing the fact that a chiropractor could play a significant role in a person's life as a primary care physician are important pieces of information to get out to the public.

Source: The Sacro Occipital Technique Organization, USA. "Multinational Survey of Chiropractic Patients: Reasons for Seeking Care," August 2008.

About the author: Dr. Holly Ruocco, D.C. is owner of Chiropractic First PLLC in Salem, N.H.

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