For years Doctors of Chiropractic have been treating patients for conditions like: headaches; whiplash; back pain; disc problems, sports injuries, sciatica, and with great success. Numerous studies have shown that chiropractic care is more clinically and cost effective than other commonly prescribed treatments. Further, scientific studies have shown that chiropractic patients report very high patient satisfaction. In a recent 2009 military study, patients reported a 94.2% satisfaction rate for chiropractic care, highest among all health care providers.

So what’s the problem? Dr. Jay Greenstein, a member of the Governor’s office for healthcare reform Essential Benefits Advisory Committee, has alerted me to the fact Maryland is contemplating new health care plans for the state, and current examples of those plans would limit your full access to clinically-proven and cost-effective chiropractic care.

Further, examples of plans being considered will drastically limit the number of chiropractic care treatments you could have per year, no matter how many episodes of neck or back pain, or any musculoskeletal problem, you were having.

It’s called the musculoskeletal system because the bones of the body are attached to muscles and they function together. Addressing one aspect, and not all, is like exercising and eating donuts to lose weight. It doesn’t work. According to the most recent scientific evidence, the spinal adjustment, which restores better body mechanics and reduce stress in the body, is highly supported by peer-reviewed studies on spinal conditions.

Yet, it is even more effective when combined with therapy applications like: heat; to reduce muscle spasm, ice; for reducing inflammation, electric stimulation to disrupt the pain cycle, deep tissue muscle work to break up scar tissue and trigger point knots, stretching to lengthen muscle fibers and increase flexibility, and an exercise program to help rehabilitate and strengthen the body so it stays healthy. All of these services are part of the doctor of chiropractic’s scope of practice and are performed regularly in our clinics to maximize treatment outcomes.

In some example plans shared with the committee, doctors of chiropractic would be restricted to only adjust, or manipulate the spine. While the adjustment is a critical and evidence-based treatment for spinal conditions, as stated earlier, the adjustment in conjunction with other treatments like soft tissue treatment and therapeutic exercise achieves the best clinical outcomes. Thus, there really is more to it than simply “cracking” the back.

So knowing that doctors of chiropractic are the most highly trained, and most experienced at providing spinal adjustments, imagine having back pain or a headache and being limited to receive only an adjustment from