Evaluating Chiropractic Care By the Numbers
When you have back pain, the faster you can get back to work, back to the activities you enjoy—back to life in general—the better. Although effective, chiropractic manipulative therapy (CMT) is oftentimes dismissed in favor of standard medical care (SMC) only. But what if I told you that chiropractic care could actually get you back faster?
According to The Spine Journal, one of the most prominent medical resources in the field of spinal care, adding CMT to SMC produced “statistically and clinically significant improvement in terms of both pain reduction and improved function—and produced much higher patient satisfaction rates.”
Considered a randomized controlled trial, the study was especially noteworthy because it focused on a real-world group of patients with acute low-back pain (4 weeks or less). The source for this group of patients? One that hasn’t been the subject of much study, but one that provides a good cross-section of patients: Active-duty male and female soldiers aged 18-35 from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.
While the study does highlight the effectiveness of chiropractic care, what about the time it will take for you to see results? I’m glad you asked.
Chiropractic Care Performance Evaluations
Each year, health care practitioners get evaluated by insurance companies based on clinical performance. One large national insurance carrier in particular sends out a Clinical Performance Summary annually informing each practitioner where they stand. The summary highlights:
- Length of time the doctor has been practicing
- Number of patients treated
- Average number of office visits per patient, per episode (OV Avg)
What is most critical to you as a patient is the OV Avg of your health care provider. It’s also critical to us because it tells us how we’re performing and how our clinical performance compares to other chiropractors.
The national average historically hovers around 8.0 office visits. Since 2012, the OV Avg for Hartville Health & Wellness Centre has been well below that number: 5.2 in 2012, 5.4 in 2013 and in 2014, 4.8.
So, when we say we can help you get back faster, we have the numbers to back it up! Request an appointment today.