ykaiim wrote:
The Ergonomic Society conducted a study that indicated that many people develop severe back problems during adulthood, and that virtually all such people who received chiropractic treatment showed great improvement. Therefore, in order to minimize the proportion of the population that suffers from back pain, the Ergonomic Society recommended that chiropractic treatment be directed toward those adults who suffer from severe back problems.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) Any person who receives chiropractic treatment for back pain may also benefit from other forms of treatment.
(B) Large insurance carriers cover chiropractic care for back problems to a lesser degree than they do other medical treatments.
(C) Individuals who receive chiropractic or other treatment prior to developing severe back problems are not less likely to develop back pain than those who do not.
(D) Chiropractic treatment is more effective in treating severe back problems when utilized over a long period of time, as opposed to sporadically.
(E) Severe back pain and other problems often cause individuals to miss workdays.
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
The argument proposes that directing chiropractic treatment toward adults with severe back problems is the best way to minimize the proportion of the population that suffers from back pain. The argument assumes a high degree of overlap between those adults who suffer from severe back problems and all people who suffer from back pain, where the former group may comprise only a subset of the latter group. It also assumes that there is not another recommendation that could better accomplish the goal of minimizing back pain for a larger segment of the population than treating just those adults with severe back problems.
(A) The argument does not depend upon whether or not chiropractic treatment can or cannot be used in conjunction with other medical treatments. The fact that people could benefit from other forms of treatment aside from chiropractic care weakens the argument to a slight degree, and does not act as a supportive assumption.
(B) The relative degree of insurance coverage of chiropractic care compared with other medical treatments is not vital to the argument. Also, that insurance carriers cover chiropractic care to a lesser degree weakens the argument marginally, and does not act as a supportive assumption.
(C) CORRECT. This statement rules out the possibility that chiropractic care or other medical treatments could effectively prevent or lessen back pain among those people who have not yet developed severe back problems.
(D) That chiropractic treatment is more effective over time is irrelevant to the argument.
(E) The economic impact of severe back pain and other problems is not addressed in the argument. Instead, addressing back pain is treated as an intrinsic goal, with no mention of economic externalities.