Can "belief" skew the results?

A recent study conducted in Australia chose patients from 100 systematically sampled chiropractic clinics to participate in a survey about the perception of chiropractic care.

Why?

The purpose was to describe patient characteristics, (demographics, socioeconomic status, perceived health status) and to further understand the perceptions of chiropractic care and services in Australia.

The Results Are In! 

Perception: 68.7% of patients chose chiropractic care as their first choice for musculoskeletal complaints and 21.2% went in for general health and well-being.

Demographics: While 67.1% of survey takers were female patients of chiropractic care mostly between the ages of 45-65, both men and women frequent chiropractors for their health.

Satisfaction: So far only a small portion of the population in Australia sees a chiropractor, yet most survey takers would receive chiropractic care again as 97.5% were satisfied with their service.

Can "belief" Skew the Results? 

Although 68.7% of patients chose chiropractic care as their first choice for muscle and joint aches, they usually discover chiropractic LAST for help with chronic disease? Chiropractic as a profession has ridiculed, called "quacks" and even been taken to court for claiming to help such cases of chronic disease. The main argument on the other side is, "the reason the patient was able to get such great results with chiropractic was because it was ALL IN THEIR HEAD". 

So the argument is; this same patient who chose medicine FIRST (obviously having more faith in medicine than non-allopathic approaches), didn't get the results they were looking for, left the model of care and then chose chiropractic (obviously having less faith in this model since it wasn't their first choice) and GOT RESULTS?!? 

The same goes for chiropractors who adjust babies and animals... How do these two populations get measurable and reproducible results if it's based on "belief level"? 

Chiropractic is SCIENCE. We explain it every Tuesday at 7pm and Saturday at Noon.  Just RSVP and we'll save you a seat! 

Chad Schleiger, D.C.
Elkhorn's pediatric and wellness chiropractor
262.215.2292 or [email protected]