Back before about 1990, Harvard and most of the medical world described chiropractic care as “unconventional” and “alternative” at best. Despite many studies showing chiropractic very effective for many painful back and neck conditions, many still viewed it with skepticism and remnants of that view still persist. But due to the mounting evidence of the effectiveness of Merrifield chiropractic care, in the 1990’s Merrifield chiropractic services were introduced into the Harvard hospital system. Now after a few decades of medical doctors working side by side with chiropractic doctors in their hospital system Harvard Medical School, in stark contrast to earlier times, now endorses chiropractic care as a “complementary” form of care.

                Their medical school has just published a 48 page booklet titled Low-Back Pain: Healing your aching back in which they include a lengthy section on chiropractic. Here are some of the points they make:

                “A 2010 review of 12 different studies involving 2887 people with low-back pain concluded that combined chiropractic care improved short- and medium – term pain more than other treatments, including exercise, physical therapy, and medication.” “People who saw chiropractors also reported being less disabled over the short term (one month) compared with people who received other treatments such as standard medical therapy.”

                “The best candidates for chiropractic manipulation are people who have no sign of nerve impairment” and “for them chiropractic care tends to be satisfying and effective for acute low-back pain”

                “Spinal manipulation has long been used as a therapy for back pain” and “is most often performed by chiropractors.”

                “When treating people with low-back pain, chiropractors commonly also use a variety of other interventions, including massage,  heat and cold therapies, and electrotherapies, as well as advice about nutrition, exercise and other lifestyle choices.”

                This is a strong endorsement for chiropractic care from one of the most respected and scholarly medical organizations in the world. Their new booklet only addresses back pain but chiropractic works with the entire musculoskeletal system and can be effective for a wide variety of painful symptoms as well as for maximizing sports performance and overall health.