A recently published randomized clinical trial may have opened a new door for extending chiropractic care into the homes of our patients ... without you having to leave your office. While the study did not test chiropractic care, it raises an interesting question about whether a similar telehealth model could extend chiropractic support between office visits.
The trial included 451 patients with chronic low back pain in three states, who received care in family medicine clinics over a three-year period. The eight-week telehealth mindfulness visit program was delivered as part of primary care for the intervention group vs. “usual care” for the control group.
The primary assessment utilized the Pain, Enjoyment of Life and General Activity (PEG) scale. At six months, the authors found statistically significant reductions in pain intensity and interference in the telehealth mindfulness group’s PEG scores compared to the control group. But the mean minimal clinically important difference did not meet the prespecified difference between the two groups.
What makes this study interesting is the concept of caring for patients at home via communication from a provider. In this case, the medical mindfulness care didn’t measure up. But there is no reason why a telehealth chiropractic “visit” couldn’t provide pain relief and improvements in daily living for chronic back pain patients. Some components of this support could potentially be provided by appropriately trained staff, depending on the services involved and applicable state scope-of-practice requirements.
The obvious advantage is that tele-chiropractic would include much more than mindfulness, such as between-visit assessments, rehab recommendations, and/or monitoring whether patients were performing recommended stretches and exercises. This also could help determine when additional in-office care is required. And of course, it would help maintain a consistent connection with patients between in-office visits, which would likely strengthen patient trust and loyalty.
A similar randomized clinical trial studying the impact chiropractors can make in patients’ lives with a telehealth visit will likely yield better results and open the door to additional avenues of care that could ultimately be reimbursable. This would extend the benefits of in-office chiropractic adjustments, particularly to patients who face mobility and travel challenges.
There may even be DCs who are already consistently providing a similar level of care. If you or someone you know is already finding success with this type of model, we would like to share it with the profession. Please reach out to me at dpetersen@mpamedia.com. Established clinic experience can be the foundation for future research.
Making chiropractic more accessible is always an important goal. The current focus is on nonpharmacologic solutions for chronic back pain sufferers. This is where extended chiropractic care can lead the way in demonstrating greater value than other alternatives.
Reference
- Morone NE, Faurot KR, Weinberg J, et al. Mindfulness-based group medical visits for persons with chronic low back pain: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med; published online June 29, 2026.
