An article in the current issue -- June, 2009 -- of Military Medicine takes a look at the effects of chiropractic on veterans with PTSD, and finds the results lacking. The study is called "A cross-sectional analysis of clinical outcomes
following chiropractic care in veterans with and without post-traumatic
stress disorder,” and it was authored by Drs. Andrew Dunn, Steven Passmore,
Jeanmarie Burke and New York Chiropractic College student David
Chicoine.
According to an article in trade publication ChiroEco.com, that study "investigates clinical outcomes for 130 veteran patients with neck or low back complaints at the VA of Western New York. This study found that patients with post-traumatic stress disorder had significantly lower lower levels of improvement than those without post-traumatic stress disorder on self-reported outcome measures of neck and low back disability."
These results are not really surprising, because -- unlike another form of bodywork, massage therapy, which does have proven results for helping PTSD symptoms -- there's nothing about chiropractic per se that indicates it would be helpful. Spinal subluxations, while combat veterans may be experiencing them, aren't really part of the PTSD profile, and relieving them wouldn't necessarily have any effect whatsoever on reducing PTSD symptoms. They're just not related. That said, it's progress that chiropractic is offered in military health care settings, and we're sure it brings combat veterans some relief -- in the appropriate context, which PTSD is not.
For a look at complementary and alternative medicine therapies ("CAM") that have shown benefit in treating PTSD, click here. For a look at bodywork therapies, click here. For a look at mind-body medicine approaches, click here. To read the article in ChiroEco.com, click here.
