Top Reasons to Visit a Chiropractor

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Have you ever come across someone who was surprised to hear that chiropractors treat more than back & neck pain? 

Although the spine accounts for the majority of our diagnoses, evidence-based chiropractors are equally adept at treating non-spinal complaints, including problems ranging from headaches to plantar fasciitis. How do we know? - Well, last year, ChiroUp tracked more than 600,000 clinical presentations and outcomes.

The following blog provides several potent visual representations highlighting the most common chiropractic diagnoses. Enjoy!

Reasons to Visit a Chiropractor

The 2021 ChiroUp network dataset highlights the most common regional complaints in chiropractic offices.

* This 2021 COPS Synopsis data parallels findings from a 2017 scoping review (2) defining the frequency of common chiropractic presentations: Back conditions (49.7%), Neck conditions (22.5%), Extremity problems (10.0%), Non-musculoskeletal conditions (3.1%).

Top 10 Chiropractic Diagnoses

A more specific condition breakdown of the 2021 ChiroUp network dataset highlights the ten most common diagnoses made in chiropractic offices.

Most Common Spinal Diagnoses

Four out of five adults will experience neck or back pain that limits their daily activity at some point in their lifetime. (3,4) It should come as no surprise that spine-related diagnoses are the leading conditions in chiropractic offices. The 2021 ChiroUp network dataset provides a breakdown of the most common spinal diagnoses in chiropractic offices.

Top Diagnoses by Region

Chiropractors are trained to assess and treat various complaints outside of the spine, including problems ranging from headaches to plantar fasciitis. The following breakdown lists the three most common musculoskeletal diagnoses per region.

Treating Causes vs. Symptoms

Functional deficits (muscle imbalances) comprise four of the top fourteen diagnoses made in evidence-based chiropractic offices. Additionally, functional deficits represent more than 21% of all chiropractic diagnoses. This focus on identifying the underlying biomechanical cause (i.e. hip abductor weakness), as opposed to the more simplistic ICD-10-defined structural result (i.e. hip osteoarthritis), may help explain the above-average clinical outcomes shown in the subsequent section.

It’s up to you and me to educate our communities:  Living with pain does not have to be a reality. Opioids do not need to be the first line of care. Surgery does not have to be the only option. Chiropractic care is safe, effective, and affordable!

ChiroUp.com exists to simplify the way chiropractors diagnose and treat over 100 of the most common MSK conditions (including the ones mentioned above). If you’d like to see our protocols, email team@chiroup.com for access to our entire “best practice” library. 

Learn more about our system of resources at ChiroUp.com.

Reprints & Reproduction

To use this infographic or its data for any purpose, or to embed the graphic on another website, please include proper credit and link to the original article on the ChiroUp.com website: www.ChiroUp.com/COPSsynopsis2021

• References

  1. Bertelsman TJ, Steele BC, Gower JG. 2021 ChiroUp Network Dataset: Statistical Reporting of 631,970 Clinical Diagnoses Collected from 2212 Evidence-Based Chiropractic Providers Between July 2019- June 2021. Accessed on 07/30/2021 from Link

  2. Beliveau PJ, Wong JJ, Sutton DA, Simon NB, Bussières AE, Mior SA, French SD. The chiropractic profession: a scoping review of utilization rates, reasons for seeking care, patient profiles, and care provided. Chiropractic & manual therapies. 2017 Dec;25(1):1-7. Link

  3. Sinnott PL, Dally SK, Trafton J, Goulet JL, Wagner TH. Trends in diagnosis of painful neck and back conditions, 2002 to 2011. Medicine. 2017 May;96(20). Link

  4. Côté P, Cassidy JD, Carroll LJ, Kristman V. The annual incidence and course of neck pain in the general population: a population-based cohort study. Pain. 2004 Dec 1;112(3):267-73. Link