FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2007
Grant Allows Sherman College Researchers to
Further Study Benefits of Chiropractic Care for
Local Public Safety Personnel
Thanks to a $10,000 grant from the South
Carolina Chiropractic Association (SCCA) and an
on-campus financial commitment of more than
$25,000, Sherman College will expand its recent
study of the benefits of chiropractic care for
local public safety personnel.
With a desire to contribute to the physical and
emotional health of its local public service
personnel, Sherman College initiated a project
in 2004 with ten volunteers, primarily from the
North Spartanburg Fire and Emergency Services
Central Headquarters. The project, (recently
published in the Journal of Vertebral
Subluxation Research) was designed to gather
preliminary data to evaluate the impact of
chiropractic care on the physical and
self-perceived health of public safety
personnel.
Preliminary findings suggest that chiropractic
care may play an important role in helping
public safety personnel cope with the
well-documented stress and physical demands they
experience in their careers (see http://www.pearsonassessments.com/resources/publicsafety-bib.htm).
As a group, the ten initial volunteers’ physical
assessment outcomes improved significantly.
Physical findings included (1) visual postural
analysis, (2) cervical range of motion, (3)
lumbar range of motion, (4) spinal balance and
leg length, (5) orthopedics, (6) motor strength
(7) deep tendon reflexes, (8) superficial
reflexes and (9) sensory testing. In addition,
the volunteers were asked to self-rate areas of
their health. Self-rated aspects of health
included physical well-being, mental/emotional
state, stress management, life enjoyment,
overall quality of life and an index of combined
wellness representing a total of all of the
areas.
Generally speaking, physical assessment outcomes
improved among test subjects, and self-rated
areas of health/quality-of-life showed
improvements as well. The SCCA grant and Sherman
College’s own funding will allow researchers to
further test the validity of these findings by
expanding the study to include 50 volunteers
from public safety categories such as fire
safety, police at county, city and state levels,
911 personnel and administrators associated with
these areas. The study will run for one year.
Sherman College will support the project by
reducing fees for the volunteers participating
in the study and providing specialized
supervision for interns documenting relevant
clinical information and providing chiropractic
care.
Project findings will be correlated with public
safety departmental statistics such as
effectiveness and efficiency of first
responders, injuries, absenteeism, retention and
other indicators that reflect aspects of
improved human performance and stress
management. Progress evaluations will be
conducted quarterly to assess volunteers’
progress in the areas described.
“We hope to show through this study that
chiropractic care is a beneficial addition to
the public sector’s health care regimen,” says
Sherman’s Director of Research Ralph Boone,
Ph.D., D.C. “This expanded study may even help
open the door to future investigations with
other populations,” he says. “We really
appreciate the support for this project from the
SCCA. Their grant allows us to move forward.”
SCCA President Farrel Grossman, D.C.,
anticipates good outcomes from the SCCA’s
involvement with the study. “It is a great
pleasure for the South Carolina Chiropractic
Association to be involved with our public
safety heroes to prove through scientific
research the positive effects of chiropractic
care,” he says.
The study is titled, “Chiropractic Care and
Improvements in Physical State and
Self-Perceptions of Health and Quality of Life
Among Public Safety Personnel.”
Download the study (PDF)
Back to Campus
News
Archived News Releases