National Chiropractic Health Month

Get Started with Chiropractic

National Chiropractic Health Month (NCHM) 2025 focuses on the benefits of starting with a non-drug approach to pain management. 

When it comes to common musculoskeletal conditions such as back, neck and joint pain and tension headaches, getting started with chiropractic — compared with starting with other types of treatments — may help patients reduce or avoid the need for prescription pain medications down the line.

Research shows that people who start with chiropractic treatment for back pain have a significantly lower risk of requiring an opioid prescription later. While opioid prescriptions are down nationwide, opioid overuse disorder (OUD) remains a serious public health problem in the United States. That’s why starting with non-drug therapies for pain is a strategy supported by evidence-based clinical guidelines from the American College of Physicians, the CDC and the World Health Organization, among others.

With the theme “Get Started with Chiropractic,” doctors of chiropractic nationwide will raise awareness in October during National Chiropractic Health Month of how taking a non-drug approach to pain initially may help you to avoid prescriptions later and get you moving in the right direction, back to your life and the activities that matter most.

NCHM Campaign Toolkit

ACA provides ideas and resources to help doctors of chiropractic, students and other groups celebrate National Chiropractic Health Month in their communities and raise awareness of the benefits of chirorpactic services. CLICK HERE for the 2025 Campaign Toolkit.

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Hands Down Better

Hands Down Better is ACA’s consumer information website and features information about the chiropractic profession and musculoskeletal health as well as healthy living and injury prevention tips.

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What is National Chiropractic Health Month?

National Chiropractic Health Month (NCHM) is a nationwide observance held each October. The event helps to raise public awareness of the importance of musculoskeletal health and the benefits of chiropractic care and its natural, evidence-based, patient-centered and non-drug approach to health and wellness.

About the American Chiropractic Association

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is the largest professional chiropractic organization in the United States. ACA attracts the most principled and accomplished chiropractors, who understand that it takes more to be called an ACA chiropractor. We are leading our profession in the most constructive and far-reaching ways—by working hand in hand with other health care professionals, by lobbying for pro-chiropractic legislation and policies, by supporting meaningful research and by using that research to inform our treatment practices. We also provide professional and educational opportunities for all our members and are committed to being a positive and unifying force for the practice of modern chiropractic.

For questions about National Chiropractic Health Month, contact [email protected].

 

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