I know the educational regimen and requirements that I and my colleagues went through. Our education, much like the education of medical doctors or osteopaths, is a full-time job. When taking 33 hours in just one semester, there is truly little time for anything else, including family.
So, to continually feel the need to defend your education as a result of general misconceptions can be frustrating at the minimum. It needs to be pointed out that any time I highlight educational points for chiropractors and the educational requirements of other professions, it is never to denigrate other professions.
I truly believe that the patient wins when there is a combined effort in the treatment protocol. Combined treatment involving chiropractors in Amarillo, nurse practitioners, medical physicians, physical therapists, and specialists should always be the goal of a modern-day practitioner in a patient-centered clinic.
I highly respect and value all healthcare professions and practitioners. The goal is to contrast and compare education levels so that the reader and healthcare consumer can be better educated and make a more informed decision overall. In that spirit, let’s dive into the research.
Why They Did It
The authors’ stated objectives in this study were to compare medical students and chiropractic students by testing their knowledge when evaluating x-ray images of the low back spine and of the pelvis. Although low back pain, and resulting radiology studies, continues to be a large part of healthcare complaints and emergency room visits, there has never been a comparison of the practitioners that are likely to be the ones reading these x-rays.
How They Did It·
- This paper was a controlled comparison of x-ray interpretation based on experience and training.·
- 496 volunteers·
- The volunteers were from nine target groups·
- Participants completed a test of x-ray interpretation·
- The exam had 19 cases all with important x-ray findings·
- The nine groups consisted of 22 medical students, 183 chiropractic students, 27 medical radiology residents, 13 chiropractic radiology residents, 66 medical clinicians, 46 chiropractic clinician’s, 48 general medical radiologists, 55 chiropractic radiologists, and 36 skeletal radiologists and fellows
What They Found·
- There were significant differences found among the professional groups.·
- Skeletal radiologists had significantly better testing and all other medical groups·
- The test results were better for general medical radiologists and medical radiology residents than for those of medical clinicians·
- The results for the medical students were significantly poor than all of the other medical groups.·
- There was no difference in the performance of chiropractic clinicians and chiropractic students·
Here’s the biggie!
- The test results for the chiropractic radiologists, the chiropractic radiology residents, and the chiropractic students were significantly higher than that of the corresponding medical categories.·
- Also, there was no significant difference in the testing results between chiropractic radiologists and skeletal radiologists.
Wrap It Up
All that needs to be repeated considering these results, is the fact that the test results for chiropractic radiologists, chiropractic radiology residents, and chiropractic students were significantly higher than that of the corresponding medical categories.
Also, there was no difference between the chiropractic radiologists and the skeletal radiologist. Considering the skeletal radiologists were the best of all other medical groups, chiropractic radiologists, by default, were also better than all other medical groups. What that means in my interpretation is that it is perfectly acceptable to have a chiropractor reading your x-ray images when given the option.
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Dr. Jeff Williams, DC, FIANM is a Fellowship-trained Neuromusculoskeletal specialist and chiropractor in Amarillo, TX. As an Amarillo chiropractor, Dr. Williams treats chronic pain, disc pain, low back pain, neck pain, whiplash injuries, and more. Dr. Williams is also the host of The Chiropractic Forward Podcast. Through the podcast, Dr. Williams teaches fellow chiropractors and advocates weekly for evidence-based, patient-centered practice through current and relevant research. If you have any questions for Dr. Williams, feel free to email at [email protected]
Learn more about Dr. Williams and his practice at https://www.amarillochiropractor.com. Dr. Williams's full-time Amarillo chiropractic practice is Creek Stone Integrated Care at 3501 SW 45th St., Ste. T, Amarillo, TX 79109
Bibliography
Taylor JA, e.a., Interpretation of abnormal lumbosacral spine radiographs. A test comparing students, clinicians, radiology residents, and radiologists in medicine and chiropractic. Spine (Phila Pa 1976), 1995. 20(10): p. 1147-53.
