Due to
the lack of funding by government agencies, legitimate, sustained scientific research in
chiropractic has only recently become fully established. In 1944, the National
Chiropractic Association (NCA) created the Chiropractic Research Foundation (CRF) with the
objective of promoting and acquiring funding for the development of research for the
chiropractic profession.
During the 1960s, chiropractic educators realized the importance of upgrading educational
standards to achieve nationally recognized accreditation. The NCA became the American
Chiropractic Association (ACA) and the CRF became the Foundation for Accredited
Chiropractic Education. What was originally conceived as an organization to support
research became an organization to help chiropractic colleges gain accreditation. While
this was accomplished in 1974, when the U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare
recognized the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), and the Foundation for Accredited
Chiropractic Education was reorganized as the Foundation of Chiropractic Education and
Research (FCER), the emphasis was to remain for several years on education rather than
research.
Two important developments in the 1970s expanded the scope of chiropractic research.
First, the U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare sponsored a research conference
on spinal manipulation in 1975, which heightened awareness of the need for research on
spinal manipulation and other chiropractic-related subject matter. This prompted the
organization of the Chiropractic Research Council (CRC) in an effort to bring together the
research directors of all the chiropractic colleges. The second important development came
in 1979, when the FCER hired a director of research who expanded the research program and
established a competitive scientific review process for submitted proposals. The
Foundation also implemented an annual research conference for paper presentations,
research training, and interprofessional communication. This meeting thrives to this day
as the International Conference on Spinal Manipulation, which attracts researchers from
different fields worldwide.
Today, research in chiropractic has grown by leaps and bounds thanks to the assistance of
a number of other organizations, mostly within the chiropractic profession. The scope of
chiropractic research parallels that of medical research, with active research involvement
in such areas as basic science, health services, education, and clinical research.
However, until very recently, Federal funding has been virtually nonexistent. Even with
millions of research dollars being given to medical research each year, only a small
number of Federal grants have been awarded to projects involving chiropractic, and in
amounts that pale in comparison to medical grants.
In 1994-5, half of all grant funding to chiropractic researchers was from the U.S. Health
Resources and Services Administration (7 grants totalling $2.3 million) and most of the
remainder was from the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (11 grants
totalling $881,000) and the Consortium for Chiropractic Research (4 grants totalling
$519,000).
Currently there are 14 peer-reviewed chiropractic journals in English which publish the
results of chiropractic research, including The Journal of Manipulative and
Physiological Therapeutics, Topics in Clinical Chiropractic, and the Journal of
Chiropractic Humanities. Chiropractic research has also been published in scientific
journals, although chiropractic researchers recognize that most of their work is read by
the chiropractic profession alone. With each passing day more is done to reduce this
scientific isolation and expand the scope and appreciation of chiropractic and
chiropractic research to the scientific community and the general public.
For more information please visit:
Manga II (courtesy of the Ontario
Chiropractic Association)
Chiropractic Journal of Australia
Chiropractic Research Journal
Chiropractic Technique
JMPT
(Journal of Manipulative & Physciological Therapeutics)
JNMS (Journal of the Neuromusculoskeletal
System)
Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association
Journal of Chiropractic Humanities
Journal of
Sports Chiropractic and Rehabilitation
Topics in Clinical Chiropractic
Chiropractic Research
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