Abstract: This narrative review examines the limited and varied interpretation of what constitutes evidence in evidence based chiropractic practice. The authors report a bias towards only one of the three evidential pillars that Sackett proposed as the basis for evidence-based practice. The literature reveals an increasing number of papers that suggest evidence can be compromised and may therefore at times be of questionable value in the practical clinical setting. The application of evidence to chiropractic practice is shown to be less than inclusive and this paper recommends that bodies with influence over the profession must broaden their understanding and acceptance of the full spectrum of evidence that sits within Sackett et al’s established model. To continue with a view that the only acceptable evidence are published studies in medical journals will continue to diminish the value of evidence drawn from the experience of chiropractors and the expectation of their patients. Regulators are urged to accord the same evidential value to the literature of chiropractic as to the broad literature of medicine; to do otherwise is to create an elitist perspective to the detriment of the conventional chiropractic practitioner.

Indexing terms: evidence, EBP, EBM, chiropractic

Cite: Rome P. Waterhouse JD. An evidence-based narrative of the evidence-base concept. Asia-Pacific Chiropr J. 2020;1:004 DOI https://doi.org/10.46323/2021004