Quality of Life Improved with Chiropractic
RCS Reports on Preliminary Data
Subjects show 20% overall improvement
Chandler, Ariz. -- RCS (Research & Clinical Science) has released information on data compiled on more than 500 volunteer subjects by RCS Authorized Clinical Investigators around the world.
According to RCS President Robert Blanks, PhD, a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Florida Atlantic University and Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine, the report provides a "snapshot" of data that "helps illustrate the advantage of the research approaches taken."
To obtain data on several critical health and wellness areas, RCS employs a customized version of a widely used "Quality of Life" questionnaire and translates the scores obtained into a composite score termed the "Vitality Wellness Index (VWI)."
For the preliminary report, scores from two research groups were used; chiropractic patients who have been under chiropractic care were compared to those of research volunteers who had never received chiropractic adjustments.
Over a three-month period (May 21, 2006 to Aug. 30, 2006) a total of 787 research subjects took the on-line quality of life survey and completed other sociodemographic assessments.
Of these, 523 were patients undergoing care in 63 participating offices and 264 were research volunteers who had never had chiropractic care. The age, sex, marital status and other sociodemographics on the two populations were comparable.
Careful analysis of the data revealed that VWI scores were significantly higher for patients than non-patients, by an average of 20%. Dr. Blanks noted that the results were quite revealing. "Of the 523 patients examined, 67% achieved difference scores corresponding to a small effect size; 57% a moderate effect size; and 43% of the overall group achieved a large clinical effect corresponding to a change of four-fifth of a standard deviation from baseline control levels."
The statistical term “effect size” is a standard measure of the clinical meaningfulness of the observed differences between groups. Even a small “effect size” is meaningful statistically, and this occurred in two-thirds (67%) of the patients undergoing care re. to controls. Even more importantly, about half of all patients (43-57%) reported changes with moderate or large effect sizes, “which is quite impressive” states Dr. Blanks.
The VWI also looks into specific components of overall wellness: life enjoyment, physical symptoms, mental-emotional state and stress.
Of the four measured factors, "life enjoyment" showed the smallest increase (10%) for those under care. The scores for physical symptoms (physical state) improved 15%; mental-emotional state improved 21%; and stress indicators improved by an overwhelming 34% with care.
"Although preliminary, these results are very encouraging," Dr. Blanks explained. "The researchers at RCS are confident that this large-scale, statistically controlled, epidemiological study will provide the first important evidence for the clinical meaningfulness of vertebral subluxation."
Return to index
