Newsletter Articles
February 2025

• Chiropractic Usage Increases in the Veterans Health Administration
• Sciatica Patients Under Chiropractic Less Likely to have Opioid-Related Adverse Events
• Severe Constipation Resolved with Chiropractic
• Dairy Cows Helped by Chiropractic

Chiropractic Usage Increases in the Veterans Health Administration

Plos One published a research article on January 13, 2025, showing that the demand for chiropractic services continues to increase by veterans according to the Veterans Health Administration (VA). The research was also published that same day on the National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information website. The study predicts that the demand for chiropractic services will continue to increase for the next five years.

The study begins by reporting that "The Veterans Health Administration (VA) introduced chiropractic services in stages starting in Fiscal Year (FY) 2001, and since then has steadily expanded its chiropractic care delivery." They also report that the expansion was driven by Congressional mandates and by public demand. Another driving factor is that musculoskeletal pain and injuries is prevalent among military personnel.

Chiropractic care for veterans is delivered in two ways. The primary way is through chiropractors being present at VA facilities and delivering the care on-site. In areas where that is not feasible, chiropractic care is also delivered by chiropractors at private facilities who are part of the VA chiropractic delivery system.

The study showed that in the fiscal year of 2017, 1.4% of VA patients received chiropractic care. By 2022, that rate had more than doubled to 3.5% of VA patients. Of the total population of people in the VA program, the Department of Defense estimated that 13% of their total population utilized chiropractic. They also note that this percentage is higher than the general population which utilizes chiropractic at a rate of 11% of the general population.

The study predicts that by the year 2027, the usage rate of chiropractic services will double. They predict that that increase will require additional resources within the VA system to handle the increased demand for services.

For services rendered for VA eligible recipients outside a VA hospital or facility, it is estimated that 411,061 veterans will be using chiropractic by the year 2027. This increase will result in an increase in expenditures to $553.4 million by in the next two years.

In their conclusion, the researchers note that the increase in chiropractic services being rendered to veterans is in line with the overall expected demand for chiropractic services in general. They state, "This trend aligns with the broader healthcare trends towards evidence-based non-pharmacological pain management strategies and highlights the VA’s role in addressing veterans’ musculoskeletal healthcare needs."

Sciatica Patients Under Chiropractic Less Likely to have Opioid-Related Adverse Events

A large study published on January 28, 2025, in the PLOS ONE journal, showed that patients who were suffering with sciatica and selected chiropractic care were less likely to suffer Opioid-Related Adverse Events (ORADEs) as compared to those who did not receive chiropractic. The study was conducted by researchers at the University Hospitals Connor Whole Health in Cleveland, Ohio.

An article on this study was released in the publication, Medical Press, on January 29, 2025, and gave an overview of the study by saying "A new study led by researchers at University Hospitals Connor Whole Health found that adults with newly diagnosed sciatica who initially received chiropractic spinal manipulation (CSM) were significantly less likely to experience opioid-related adverse drug events (ORADEs) such as overdose and poisoning over a one-year follow-up compared to those receiving usual medical care."

The researchers in this study reviewed 216 million patient records between 2009 and 2024 in order to create two groups for the study. All patients in this study were suffering with sciatic pain and were over the age of 18 years. Patients were excluded from being included in this study if they had previously had spinal surgery, a history of prior anesthesia, any serious type of pathology, or were at a higher risk of addiction or reactions from opioid drugs.

After ruling out millions of cases from being included in this study, the remaining cases were divided into two matching groups of 372,471 patients in each. One group received standard medical care while the other group received chiropractic care, referred to by the researchers as "chiropractic spinal manipulation (CSM)."

The results of the study showed that the group that received chiropractic care was three times less likely to have opioid-related adverse drug events (ORADEs) as compared to the group that had standard medical care.

In commenting on this study, Dr. Françoise Adan, Chief Whole Health and Well-being Officer and Director of UH Connor Whole Health stated, "In light of the ongoing opioid crisis, these findings underscore the importance of offering evidence-based non-pharmacological alternatives for pain management."

Lead author Robert Trager, DC, also commented in the Medical Press article when he added, "Although previous studies demonstrated a reduced likelihood of opioid prescription among patients receiving chiropractic care, our study is the first to focus on opioid-related adverse events, adding a layer of clinical relevance to our work."

Severe Constipation Resolved with Chiropractic

The Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health Chiropractic published the results of a case study on February 3, 2025, documenting the resolution of a case of severe constipation in an infant after receiving chiropractic care. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, "Constipation has been defined as a delay or difficulty in defecation, present for two or more weeks, sufficient to cause significant distress to the patient."

The author of this study begins by noting "Constipation can compromise the quality of life for a child and can also put stress on the parents." The author then continues by emphasizing the seriousness of this problem by saying, "The risk factors for children in cases of constipation include psychosocial stress, poor diet, obesity and poor treatment of the child. Many of these children will continue to deal with constipation even into adulthood. Common treatments include laxatives, dietary changes, impaction procedures, enemas, and behavioral modification."

In this case, a 2-month-old infant was brough to the chiropractor by his parents. The infant boy had been suffering with constipation since his birth. The infant boy was unable to unable to have a bowel movement without using an enema or other assistive devices. The infant’s mother was using these interventions to elicit a bowel movement every six days since her son was born.

The infant was born via forceps delivery in a hospital after a long labor. The delivery resulted in bruising on his face and skull. The boy had to remain in the hospital for 10 days in the NICU due to difficulty breathing. The boy’s pediatrician had recommended a barium enema with a lower GI series, but his parents wanted to try more natural approaches before submitting their child to medical procedures.

A chiropractic examination of the boy revealed a restricted motion of the infant’s neck. His parents confirmed that the restriction was present since birth. The results of the examination confirmed the presence of spinal subluxations in the infant’s spine. With the finding of subluxations, specific forms of chiropractic care were started. The infant was initially seen twice per week.

The study reports that between week 1 to week 4 of his chiropractic care care, the infant began having three unassisted bowel movements per week. By the sixth week, the infant was having five bowel movements each week. Shortly thereafter, the study reports that the infant boy was experiencing a bowel movement each day.

The researcher summed up this case by stating, "Chiropractic care over the course of 10 weeks was performed for this patient and they had positive outcomes. The patient increased his bowel frequency to daily and his cervical range of motion was restored." She continued by explaining, "The principle aim of this study was the correction of vertebral subluxation to improve the quality of life of this infant. The subluxations determined on this patient were associated with severe constipation and moderate restriction of range of motion in the cervical spine."

Dairy Cows Helped by Chiropractic

The science behind chiropractic is concerned with the proper function of the nervous system. When there is interference to the nervous system from spinal subluxations, there is a resulting malfunction somewhere in the body. This concept has been shown to be true in the tens of millions of satisfied patients who have visited chiropractors over the years.

Although the anatomies are different, this same principle can also be applied to animals with a spinal column. To date, horses and dogs have been the most common non-human recipients of chiropractic care. A new study now adds a new animal to that group, but this one may have a larger impact on humans, our food chain, and the economy.

On November 24, 2024, the journal Veterinary Science published the results of a study that shows that chiropractic care helped dairy cows with lameness. This study suggests that chiropractic for dairy cows could result in a large financial benefit for the dairy industry. The research was performed at the Institute of Veterinary Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, in Germany.

The authors of this study begin by explaining, "Lameness, also attributed to musculoskeletal disorders of the back, is a major issue in dairy cow farming, affecting both animal welfare and economics. Chiropractic techniques are well studied in humans and horses for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders."

This study reviewed five individual cases of dairy cows that were having a variety of problems due to lameness. Each of the dairy cows had issues from lameness causing activities and behaviors that resulted in a decrease of their productivity as a dairy cow.

In each of these cases chiropractic adjustments appropriate to the specific anatomy of cows were applied to areas that were determined to be subluxated. The cases were each documented for changes resulting from the chiropractic care.

The results showed that all of the cows in this study benefited from chiropractic care and eliminated their symptoms and activities. This allowed the cows to act normally and become productive dairy producers again. In their conclusion, the authors wrote, "Chiropractic treatment can relieve pain without the waiting period required by many medications. It can promote healing and improve performance parameters and cow comfort. This is desirable from an economic and animal welfare perspective."