The Public Health Service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded Los Angeles College of Chiropractic (LACC) a grant of nearly $900,000 dollars over three years to demonstrate the effectiveness of chiropractic care in the management of mechanical low back pain. This award will be the largest made by the federal government for chiropractic research. This will also be the first federal grant made to LACC for studying the management of low back pain in a chiropractic research setting.
Total direct costs for the three-year project are $875,176. There have been additional donations of $25,000 from the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research and $27,000 worth of equipment from Leander Health Technologies.
The study, in collaboration with the University of California, Irvine's College of Medicine Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) has four goals:
Members of the research study team from U.C. Irvine's College of Medicine Dept. of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation include: Jerome Tobis (professor emeritus, chairman of the study team); John Hong (associate professor); Calvin Okey (resident); Nathan Wong (assistant professor, director of preventive cardiology); Art Rubel (professor, depart. of family medicine); Paul Feldstein (professor, graduate school of management); and Fred Hoehler, statistical consultant on the project.
LACC President Dr. Reed Phillips said the study's findings would have "important consequences to both professions," as the study will make available to patients the therapies of MDs and DCs at both sites (LACC and UCI). Dr. Phillips said the study's findings "could lend a new understanding of the effects of interprofessional treatments."
The project began November 1, 1994. For the first year (phase I) of the project, four licensed DCs with a minimum of one year experience are needed to give manual trigger point examination and motion palpation of the lumbar spine on 104 patients. This will take approximately half a day every other week for one year to complete. DCs interested in participating in the study may contact the research division at LACC at (310) 947-8755 ext. 370.
When sports chiropractors first appeared at the Olympic Games in the 1980s, it was alongside individual athletes who had experienced the benefits of chiropractic care in their training and recovery processes at home. Fast forward to Paris 2024, where chiropractic care was available in the polyclinic for all athletes, and the attitude has now evolved to recognize that “every athlete deserves access to sports chiropractic."
It is estimated that 61% of patients with CTS avoid taking surgical options due to postoperative complications and costly surgical procedures. Chiropractic care offers a comprehensive and effective treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome, addressing the condition from multiple angles. Recent studies also have unveiled a game-changing adjunct to chiropractic treatments for CTS: nerve flossing.
Some doctors thrive in a personality-based clinic and have a loyal following no matter what services or equipment they offer, but for most chiropractic offices who are trying to grow and expand, new equipment purchases help us stay relevant and continue to service our client base in the best, most up-to-date manner possible. So, regarding equipment purchasing: should you lease, get a bank loan, or pay cash?
