2025 Federal Election: A Path to More Accessible and Affordable Care
In the lead up to this Federal election, all sides of politics have recognised the need to invest in Australia’s healthcare system.
Successive reviews, including the Scope of Practice and Kruk reviews, highlight the pressures across the sector and make it increasingly important to support and harness the potential of services that are both effective and sustainable.
Chiropractic care is one such service — helping Australians manage pain, improve mobility, and maintain their health without reliance on expensive surgery or pharmaceuticals.
Signalling the importance of reform in the healthcare sector, as the representatives of chiropractors and their patients in Australia, the ACA and Chiropractic Australia have come together to urge government to prioritise expanding access to allied health, including chiropractic care, as part of ongoing healthcare policy and system reform.
Neuroplastic Responses to Chiropractic Care: Broad Impacts on Pain, Mood, Sleep, and Quality of Life
Haavik, H., Niazi, I. K., Amjad, I., Kumari, N., Ghani, U., Ashfaque, M., Rashid, U., Navid, M. S., Kamavuako, E. N., Pujari, A. N., & Holt, K. (2024). Neuroplastic Responses to Chiropractic Care: Broad Impacts on Pain, Mood, Sleep, and Quality of Life. Brain Sciences, 14(11), 1124. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14111124
Objectives: This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms of chiropractic care using resting electroencephalography (EEG), somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs), clinical health assessments (Fitbit), and Patient-reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS-29). Methods: Seventy-six people with chronic low back pain (mean age ± SD: 45 ± 11 years, 33 female) were randomised into control (n = 38) and chiropractic (n = 38) groups. EEG and SEPs were collected pre and post the first intervention and post 4 weeks of intervention. PROMIS-29 was measured pre and post 4 weeks. Fitbit data were recorded continuously. Results: Spectral analysis of resting EEG showed a significant increase in Theta, Alpha and Beta, and a significant decrease in Delta power in the chiropractic group post intervention. Source localisation revealed a significant increase in Alpha activity within the Default Mode Network (DMN) post intervention and post 4 weeks. A significant decrease in N30 SEP peak amplitude post intervention and post 4 weeks was found in the chiropractic group. Source localisation demonstrated significant changes in Alpha and Beta power within the DMN post-intervention and post 4 weeks. Significant improvements in light sleep stage were observed in the chiropractic group along with enhanced overall quality of life post 4 weeks, including significant reductions in anxiety, depression, fatigue, and pain. Conclusions: These findings indicate that many health benefits of chiropractic care are due to altered brain activity.
A randomized controlled trial comparing different sites of high-velocity low amplitude thrust on sensorimotor integration parameters
Niazi, I.K., Navid, M.S., Merkle, C. et al. A randomized controlled trial comparing different sites of high-velocity low amplitude thrust on sensorimotor integration parameters. Sci Rep 14, 1159 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-51201-9
Increasing evidence suggests that a high-velocity, low-amplitude (HVLA) thrust directed at a dysfunctional vertebral segment in people with subclinical spinal pain alters various neurophysiological measures, including somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs). We hypothesized that an HVLA thrust applied to a clinician chosen vertebral segment based on clinical indicators of vertebral dysfunction, in short, segment considered as “relevant” would significantly reduce the N30 amplitude compared to an HVLA thrust applied to a predetermined vertebral segment not based on clinical indicators of vertebral dysfunction or segment considered as “non-relevant”. In this double-blinded, active-controlled, parallel-design study, 96 adults with recurrent mild neck pain, ache, or stiffness were randomly allocated to receiving a single thrust directed at either a segment considered as “relevant” or a segment considered as “non-relevant" in their upper cervical spine.