By SUSAN JONES
The School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) will begin offering a Doctor of Chiropractic program in fall 2025. It will be first at a research-intensive public university in the United States and the only one in Pennsylvania, Anthony Delitto, dean of SHRS, announced.
Currently, there are only 20 chiropractic schools in the country that are accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education. Pitt’s will be the only chiropractic program in the U.S. led by a faculty member with National Institutes of Health research funding — Michael Schneider, a professor in SHRS and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
Schneider practiced as a doctor of chiropractic for more than 25 years, then received his Ph.D. in rehabilitation science from Pitt in 2008 and moved into academic research. He has been a principal or co-investigator on 16 research studies funded by NIH and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and is currently a co-investigator on four NIH-funded clinical research studies totaling about $30 million.
Pitt’s program will focus on evidence-based training for spine and musculoskeletal conditions and prepare students to work within interprofessional teams.
“With the addition of a chiropractic program, students and faculty from various health disciplines can come together to explore new research avenues, share knowledge and develop integrated approaches to patient care,” Delitto said in a news release.
“Major drivers of this program include an accumulation of scientific evidence showing that chiropractic care is a safe and effective approach to the treatment of pain and the important role it can play in mitigating opioid use for back and neck pain through nonopioid interventions,” said Schneider, who will be the program’s acting director. “According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 619 million people live with low back pain. It is the leading cause of disability worldwide.”
“Opening a Doctor of Chiropractic education program in a research-intensive university is a bold and innovative step toward advancing health care education, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and improving patient outcomes,” Delitto said.
Chiropractic care has been covered by most health care plans for years, including Pitt’s UPMC plans, and is widely utilized by consumers.
Last year, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced a bill that would expand Medicare coverage of chiropractic services to include all services provided by chiropractors, rather than only “subluxation corrections through manual manipulation of the spine.”
Delitto said the American College of Physicians guidelines for primary care physicians in the United States “specifically recommend spinal manipulation (chiropractic care) for low back pain. The World Health Organization just this year also published a similar guideline recommending chiropractic care as an evidence-based treatment for back and neck pain.”
He said many in leadership positions in the Pitt medical community and UPMC physicians “have publicly backed the program and shown robust support as we work to get the program off the ground."
“Our students will follow all public health initiatives and recommendations and will receive clinical training side-by-side in an integrated setting with physicians, physical therapists and other health care providers,” Schneider said.
“The introduction of this program exemplifies how the six schools of the health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh — Dental, Medicine, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Nursing, Pharmacy and Public Health — are leading the way in training the next generation of clinical care,” Chancellor Joan Gabel said.
“Leveraging the University's reputation for academic excellence and collaboration across disciplines, the chiropractic program can offer rigorous academic training, clinical experiences and research opportunities, ensuring that graduates are well-prepared to excel in their careers,” said Anantha Shekhar, senior vice chancellor for the health sciences.
Applications for prospective students will be accepted in fall 2024 with the first cohort of 40 students starting in fall 2025. Over the following two years, the program will grow to accept 60 students. This will be an eight-term program, shorter than most doctor of chiropractor programs.
Students will work with real patients beginning with observational rounds in the first year and culminating in the last semester with full-time chiropractic clinical training within an integrated health care system and private chiropractic clinics.
The program also will have a clinical affiliation with VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, whose growing chiropractic care program includes on-site services at the University Drive campus and multiple community-based outpatient clinics.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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