Q. How many DCs are in the state of Virginia? What is the ratio of DCs to the population in the state of Virginia? Which states allow DCs to practice?
A. Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) official directory (phone: 970-356-3500)
- FCLB maintains statistics on the licenses issued by state.
- FCLB also includes a synopsis of each state's Scope of Practice in their directory.
Contact the Virginia state association for more information.
Q. How many DCs practice in the US?
A. This number is difficult to determine. In 1998, FCLB reported 79,674 active DC licenses in the US; however, not all of these DCs are practicing and some may be duplicates (i.e., the same DC may have active licenses in multiple states). A query of a well-known US Yellow pages CDROM counted over 55,000 ads; consequently, the range is probably between 55,000 and 70,000 practicing DCs in the US.
Q. How many Americans visit DCs per year?
A. A 1991 Gallup Poll commissioned by the ACA found that, 10.1% of adults (18 and over) had used chiropractic services within the last year. According to the US Census Bureau, today there are approximately 273 million people in the US. Assuming the 10% annual figure has remained unchanged, the number of people who visit a chiropractor every year is now about 27 million. This number can also be calculated by multiplying the number of individual patients the avg. DC sees per year (approx. 375) by the number of DCs in the country (see above). This produces a range between 21 and 28 million people.
Q. Can you send me a copy of that government report that stated that chiropractic was better than other therapies?
A. The AHCPR Guidelines on Acute Low Back Problems in Adults state that spinal manipulation can be helpful when used within the first month of acute low back pain symptoms. Copies can be purchased through the ACA by calling (800)368-3083.
1 www.census.gov keeps a running tally of the population
2 see the 1997 ACA Statistical Survey Summary, JACA Nov 98.
