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Chiropractic for the Treatment and Prevention of Sports Injuries

By Frank M. Painter|April 17, 2010|News, Sports|

Chiropractic for the Treatment and Prevention of Sports Injuries

Chiropractors have a longstanding history of treating musculoskeletal sports injuries. There have been few research studies that document the value of chiropractic treatment for sports injuries and nearly no research that has looked at providing evidence that chiropractic care can play a role in preventing those injuries. The void and need for research supporting the role of chiropractic in sports injury prevention makes a randomized clinical trial (RCT) published last week (8 April, 2010) an important contribution to the literature. [1] (more…)

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Health insurers shifting costs ahead of law – report

By John Wiens DC|April 16, 2010|Health Care|

Source Reuters
By Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some of the largest U.S. health insurers are changing their accounting practices to book administration costs as medical costs in an attempt to circumvent new industry reforms, according to a U.S. Senate panel’s report released on Thursday.

Under the healthcare law passed in March, insurers must adjust their spending habits to meet new requirements. For example, large group plans must spend at least 85 cents of every premium dollar paid to them on actual medical care as opposed to administrative costs, while individual and small group plans must spend 80 cents.

Wall Street closely watches such spending levels, known as medical-loss ratios, or MLRs, as a sign of potential profits. Major health insurance stock indexes fell after the report. (more…)

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New Report Finds Chiropractic Is More Effective for Neck and Low Back Complaints

By Frank M. Painter|April 15, 2010|Low Back Pain, Neck Pain, News|

New Report Finds Chiropractic Is More Effective for Neck and Low Back Complaints

The Chiro.Org Blog

Thanks to John Wiens, D.C. for drawing our attention to this study!

This new report, prepared for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress by the esteemed medical authors Niteesh Choudhry, MD, PHD (Harvard Medical School) and Arnold Milstein, MD, MPH (Mercer health and Benefits), produced these conclusions from the Executive Summary:

- Chiropractic care is more effective than other modalities for treating low back and neck pain

(more…)

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BCA Drops Its Defamation Lawsuit Against Science Writer Simon Singh

By John Wiens DC|April 15, 2010|News|

Chiro org has been following this story since it’s inception.

Source Mail Online

The British Chiropractic Association has dropped its defamation case against science writer Simon Singh, days after he won a legal battle for the right to criticise what he regarded as ‘bogus’ science.

The BCA today served notice of discontinuance of its action against Dr Singh, after its successful claim suing him for libel was overturned by the Court of Appeal on April 1.

Dr Singh had said claims by some chiropracters that they could help treat conditions such as colic, ear infections and feeding problems in babies and toddlers were ‘bogus’ and without a ‘jot of evidence’ to support them. (more…)

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New Canadian Studies Suggest Seasonal Fu Shot Increased H1N1 Risk

By John Wiens DC|April 12, 2010|Flu|

Source SIDRAP

Despite a rapidly launched range of studies, investigators in Canada are still unable to say—or to rule out—whether receiving a seasonal flu vaccination in the 2008-09 season made it more likely that Canadians would become ill from 2009 pandemic H1N1 flu.

In a lengthy article published today in Public Library of Science Medicine (PLoSMed), researchers detail the results of four supplementary studies that were launched after an April 2009 school outbreak provided the first signal of an association between seasonal flu shots and pandemic flu illness. The studies, which took in about 2,700 people, found overall that the likelihood of needing medical attention for pandemic flu was 1.4 to 2.5 times greater among people who were vaccinated the previous fall. (more…)

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Why Do Spinal Surgery Rates Continue To Rise?

By Frank M. Painter|April 10, 2010|Iatrogenic Injury, Low Back Pain, News, Unnecessary Surgery|

Why Do Spinal Surgery Rates Continue To Rise?

The Chiro.Org Blog

A Chiro.Org Editorial

First, let’s review some history. In 1974, the Congressional Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce held hearings on unnecessary surgery. Their findings from the First Surgical Second Opinion Program found that 17.6% of recommendations for surgery were not confirmed. The House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations extrapolated these figures to estimate that, on a nationwide basis, there were 2.4 million unnecessary surgeries performed every year, resulting in 11,900 deaths, at an annual cost of $3.9 billion. [1]

With the total number of lower back surgeries having been estimated in 1995 to exceed 250,000 in the U.S., at a hospital cost of $11,000 per patient. [2] This could suggest that the total number of unnecessary back surgeries each year in the U.S. could be 44,000, costing as much as $484 million. [3]

So, the first risk of spinal surgery is that it may not be necessary.

A most-recent review suggests that:

Back Surgery Fails 74% of the Time

(more…)

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