Does Chiropractic Adjustment Work? A Doctor’s Opinion on Back, Neck Treatments and More

Are chiropractic adjustments a scam, quackery or proven to work? A doctor looks at the evidence. Included: treatment for back pain, neck pain, more.

Chiropractic care focuses on the relationship between the body’s main structures – the skeleton, the muscles and the nerves – and the patient’s spinal health. The chiropractic premise is that back pain along with other complaints can be improved by making adjustments to these structures, particularly to the spinal column.

But does chiropractic adjustment work? What is the evidence for today’s chiropractic care?

Various well-meaning medical doctors and websites attempt to answer this question, but they often overlook the recent evidence published in peer-reviewed journals. Instead they will sometimes drag out tired arguments that have been around for a long time.

Fortunately, chiropractic treatment’s increasing popularity has exposed more medical physicians to the benefits. And, relatively recent research has proven that chiropractic adjustment does work for some things. These changes have helped soften medical doctors’ opinions.

Does Chiropractic Treatment for Back Pain Work?

Chiropractic adjustment are proven to work for acute and chronic spinal pain, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction and trigger points in muscles. Furthermore, a recent study showed that the Activator Adjusting Instrument (AAI) or Activator Methods Chiropractic Technique (AMCT)  provided comparable clinically meaningful benefits to patients when compared to high-velocity, low-amplitude (HVLA) manual manipulation. Did you pick up on that? Same benefit, easier to undergo.

So does chiropractic adjustment work? Yes. That means no matter what else you may be doing to deal with your back pain or neck pain, chiropractic care may be able to help you get back faster—to work, to play, to life!

That is the evidence. Everything else is opinion.