Increase in Chiropractic Patients With Work-Related Injuries

The above headline comes from a Healthmall.com report of a release from the July 21st 2000 Journal of the American Chiropractic Association.  In this article it is reported that there is more evidence of chiropractic effectiveness in returning injured workers back to work both quicker, and more affordably than other forms of care.  According to the report one such study showed a consistent 2 to 1 advantage of chiropractic care over medical care for injured workers. As far as expenses for such care, another study showed that costs in cases managed by doctors of chiropractic increased only 12% between 1986 and 1989, while treatment costs in cases managed by medical doctors increased 71% during the same period.

Historically, the medical community has been slow to embrace the chiropractic approach for injured workers however, based on new evidence the article reports that, "some doctors of chiropractic are experiencing an increase in the number of patients with work-related injuries who are being referred to them by medical doctors."

Back Belts Worn at Work Not Effective

The above was the conclusion of a study published in the December 6, 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, (JAMA).  The report in JAMA started off by noting that usage of these devices is becoming more common. "Despite scientific uncertainties about effectiveness, wearing back belts in the hopes of preventing costly and disabling low back injury in employees is becoming common in the workplace."

The study interviewed 9377 employees from 160 stores.  Of those stores in the study, 89 required back-belt use and 71 had voluntary belt use.  The study would then track the incidence rate of material-handling back injury workers compensation claims as well as a 6-month incidence rate of self-reported low back pain among the workers.

The conclusion of the study was clear. As explained by the JAMA article, "In the largest prospective cohort study of back belt use, adjusted for multiple individual risk factors, neither frequent back belt use nor a store policy that required belt use was associated with reduced incidence of back injury claims or low back pain."  In simpler terms, these belts do not work to prevent the problems for which they were designed.