Many patients first attend a chiropractor because of back pain. Low back pain is an extremely common problem in our society. This may well be due to a variety of factors including sedentary lifestyle, stress and a lack of exercise. Of course, there may be other causes: lifting injuries, falls, sports injuries, and so on.
Chiropractic is an effective treatment for low back pain. One of the most influential studies demonstrating its efficacy was published in the British Medical Journal by Meade, et al.
More recently, the the British Medical Journal published a paper comparing manipulation with exercise (the BEAM trial). This demonstrated that manipulation is a cost-effective addition to GP care.
There is some evidence (JMPT Feb 2006) that chiropractic manipulative treatment is effective in the treatment of low back pain due to arthritis.