Are you aware that in the United States back pain is the second leading cause for physician visits and is second only to childbirth for hospitalizations? 

It is also the most prevalent chronic medical condition and primary cause of long-term disability.  Back pain, headaches, arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders combine to cost employers $61 billion per year in lost productive time alone and $100 billion in annual health care costs.  

JAMA 2003, Arch Intern Med. 2004; 164:1985-1992

In 1987, a study of 17,142 patients (22 clinics) in Italy by medical physicians and chiropractors concluded:

"The results of our survey presented herein, are clear and incontrovertible: our sample population of over seventeen thousand patients treated with chiropractic for at least two years showed that this treatment could lead to 55-75% reduction in the number of daily absences from work and could cut down the number of hospitalized patients by 87.60 % vis-à-vis other currently used forms of treatment (pharmacological, physiokinesiotherapeutic, surgical, etc.)....... 

A most meaningful indicator of the effectiveness of chiropractors is the improvement it produces in the quality of life, not only because of its curative effect but also thanks to its preventative and rehabilitative functions."

This study conducted by the prestigious RAND Corporation, marks the first time that representatives of the medical community have gone on record stating that chiropractic is an appropriate treatment for certain low-back pain conditions.

Research in Great Britain conducted by T.W. Meade, a medical doctor, compared chiropractic manipulation and hospital outpatient treatment for low-back pain, consistent of corset wearing and standard physical therapy.

The study concluded,

For patients with low-back pain in whom manipulation is not contraindicated, chiropractic almost certainly confers worthwhile, long-term benefit in comparison to hospital outpatient management.

In a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio interview, Dr. Meade stated,

"Our trial showed that chiropractic is a very effective treatment, more effective than conventional hospital out-patient treatment for low-back pain, particularly in patients who had back pain in the past and who got severe back problems...One of the unexpected findings was that the treatment differences - the benefit of chiropractic over hospital treatment-actually persists for the whole of that three-year period....it looks as though the treatment that the chiropractors give does something that results in a very long-term benefit."