By William E. Morgan, D.C.

In 2000 the results of a five-year 13-site Department of Defense study* on the effectiveness of chiropractic was released. This study compared the outcomes of chiropractic care to traditional medical management (which included the use of rest, physical therapy, drugs, and all other modalities available in traditional medicine). The results of the patient satisfaction surveys (figures 1-5) were strongly inclined toward chiropractic.

In addition to having highly satisfied patients, the study found that chiropractic care could recover a significant number of workdays: "Integrating chiropractic care into the MHS will result in improved access to health care services for military personnel and will lead to the recovery of between 111,000 and 331,000 additional duty days per year."

Finally the Executive Summary of this study stated, ".there is reason to believe that integrating chiropractic care into the MHS will lead to enhanced readiness and increased retention."

Figure 1. Survey question: "How satisfied are you with the improvement in your condition?"

Figure 2. Survey question: "How satisfied are you with the practitioner's willingness to spend time with you?"

Figure 3. Survey question: "How satisfied are you with the explanation of your treatment?"

Figure 4. Survey question: "I feel better now!"

Figure 5. Survey question: "I had good results from treatment!"

Currently there are 42 military training facilities that offer chiropractic care to active duty military personnel. This represents a small percentage of the 238 total training facilities in the military. These bases are staffed by chiropractors who are civilian contractors. The military has no visible plans to make chiropractors employees or to commission them into the military, though several of the chiropractors in the DOD are veterans of military service.

*Muse & Associates, Inc. Report on the Department of Defense Chiropractic Health Care Demonstration Project. Results of independent study conducted by Department of Defense contracted agency. Washington, D.C., March 2000.