NIH commits $7 million to Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research to study chiropractic care for veterans

September 21, 2017—Scientists at the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research (PCCR), along with partner organizations, received a $1.46 million award from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and the Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The award (UG3-AT009761) funds a two-year research planning project to address the short-term pain and functional outcomes associated with different numbers of chiropractic visits, and the long-term effectiveness of chiropractic care delivered at Veterans Health Administration (VHA) clinics.

If the NIH determines initial project goals are met after the two-year planning phase and pending available funds, the project and funding will extend over an additional four years totaling approximately $7 million, making this the largest award ever granted by the NIH to a chiropractic institution.

“There is a pressing need to address the devastating impact of chronic low-back pain in U.S. Veterans,” said Principal Investigator Christine Goertz, DC, PhD, Palmer College of Chiropractic’s vice chancellor for research and health policy. “I’m extremely excited about the outstanding multidisciplinary team Palmer has brought together to look at dosing of chiropractic services, both during an episode of low-back pain and in preventing future episodes. We believe the results of this study have the potential to directly impact chiropractic health policy within the VHA and beyond.”

This award is part of a multi-disciplinary initiative sponsored by the NIH, Department of Defense and the Veterans Health Administration. It includes 11 pragmatic clinical studies, as well as a coordinating center that will support these projects. Partner organizations with the PCCR on this project are the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice, Iowa City VA Health Care Systems, Minneapolis VA Health Care System, the University of Iowa, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, and Yale University.

The Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research, headquartered on Palmer College of Chiropractic’s main campus in Davenport, Iowa, is the most highly funded chiropractic research center in the U.S. Within the past 10 years, the PCCR has been awarded grants from the NIH, the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration and the Department of Defense, in addition to private-foundation grants.