EDINA, Minn., Feb. 9/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the rising cost of health care, more and more consumers are looking toward prevention, high quality and cost-effective care. During National Wise Health Consumer Month, the Minnesota Chiropractic Association (MCA) encourages the public to take another look at chiropractic care.

February is National Wise Health Consumer Month and is an excellent time for Minnesotans to learn about chiropractic care and how it increases overall health, explained Debra Hurston, MCA Executive Director. The Minnesota Chiropractic Association (MCA) encourages all Minnesotans to make the connection that chiropractic care increases overall health and is cost-effective.

The perception of chiropractic care may be limited to back and neck injuries, but chiropractors look at the whole patient and advise the best ways to stay in peak health. Chiropractors focus on prevention and advise on a number of health areas, including nutritional issues, and treat overall patient health. A 2007 study conducted by the Integrative Medicine Independent Physician Association showed that, over a seven-year period, patients seeking alternative care realized:

• 60.2% decreases in hospital admissions
• 59% decreases in hospital stays
• 62% decreases in outpatient surgeries and procedures
• 85% decreases in pharmaceutical costs

The result is an overall reduction in healthcare costs.

Chiropractic treatment is safe and effective, and is the largest, most regulated, and best recognized of the complementary and alternative medicine professions. To locate an MCA Doctor of Chiropractic in your area, visit http://www.mnchiro.com.

Employer promotes wellness with Chiropractic care

Doug Adamek is a successful business owner, and never gave much credence to the chiropractic profession. When he learned his daughter was working toward a career in chiropractic care, he gradually changed his opinion. Now he is such a proponent of chiropractic care that he regularly brings a chiropractor to his office to treat his employees.

"Initially I was extremely skeptical of chiropractic care," said Adamek. "Ten years ago my daughter told me she was going into it, and I thought, 'They're just a bunch of quacks.'" Over time his view changed, and he now recognizes the total health benefits of seeing a chiropractor.

"Chiropractic care does respond to total well-being very well," said Adamek. "Adjustments are a small part of what the chiropractor brings for overall care."

Adamek has been so responsive to chiropractic care that at 61 he finished his first marathon, and since then has competed in seven more. From his chiropractor he gets advice on diet, training, and a variety of nutritional supplements.

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