The journal Chiropractic & Manual Therapies published a research review article in their 27:45 issue of their 2019 journal that reviewed a number of prior studies on chiropractic care for active military in order to see the results and satisfaction level active military personnel had with available chiropractic services.
The study begins by pointing out, “Musculoskeletal injuries significantly affect the health and operational readiness of active military personnel. They are one of the most prevalent battle and non-battle related injuries in theatre.” Musculoskeletal injuries are predominantly those injuries that create pain and affect movement and function. Neck and back pain are the most common of these types of injuries.
The study reports that data from the United States Navy Physical Evaluation Board between February 2005 and February 2006 showed that musculoskeletal diagnoses were common, representing 43% of all diagnosis. Of these, back pain was the most common being 29% of all diagnosis. Similar findings were also seen in other militaries reviewed in the study including the Canadian Armed Forces, the Swedish Air Force, and the Royal Air Force of Britain.
After reviewing 674 articles related to chiropractic in the military, only 20 met the criteria for inclusion into this study. In most cases, chiropractic care was only available to military personnel after a referral from a gatekeeper, who was usually a medical physician. Most patients were primarily seen for musculoskeletal conditions. In many cases, the referral for chiropractic occurred only after other medical treatments had failed to help the patient.
In most countries, chiropractic care was delivered off base by practicing chiropractors. The study notes, “We found that chiropractic services are provided to active duty military in on-base clinical facilities in only one country, the US; this is driven by US legislation.”
The results of the studies reviewed were that most patients were satisfied with their chiropractic care. In Canada, 94.2% were satisfied with their chiropractic care. One of the studies reported that participants pain was completely gone in 73% of their cases.
In their conclusion the authors wrote, “Our scoping review found the majority of published articles described chiropractic services in the active duty military in the US setting. Recent RCTs (randomized clinical trials) suggest a benefit of including chiropractic care to usual medical care in managing back pain in active duty military.”
If you or anyone you know could benefit from less interference within their nervous system, please call us at 512-452-2525 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Swanson, Chiropractor in Austin, TX.