October 2023 Healthy News from Johnson Chiropractic Accessible Chiropractic Care Helps Back Pain and Spinal Muscles: Reduced Costs and Relief

 

Back pain and neck pain are not only painful but also costly and oftentimes complex. Overall health care spending in the US keeps rising: $1.4 trillion in 1996 to $3.1 trillion in 2016. It makes up 18% of the US economy as of 2020. Of the top 154 conditions that insurers pay for the coverage of, low back pain and neck pain were the costliest at $134.5 billion. (If you’re curious, #2 was musculoskeletal disorders, and #3 was diabetes care.) (1) In one study of Medicare expenditures for chiropractic spine care, researchers found that $400 to $500 million was spent each year. They also noted that more accessibility to chiropractic reduced the reliance on primary care services for spine pain conditions. Further, some financial savings for care of spine pain conditions was seen in the care of ambulatory patients that may well equate to bigger savings since spine pain conditions are seen so often in older adults. (2) Ambulatory patients can take themselves to a healthcare provider, and many find their way to chiropractors. Chiropractors are known for their care of the spine and spine-related, musculoskeletal conditions. A recent study reported that they, not surprisingly, usually elected to use spinal manipulation for clinical treatments of spinal conditions and soft tissue approaches for extremity pain conditions. (3) Chiropractors are well-educated to diagnose co-morbidities, conditions that spine pain patients deal with in addition to spine pain that are not related to the spine. Researchers are presently collecting data that will show just how many of these types of conditions chiropractors see in their patients. (4) This existence of non-spine related conditions is a basis for chiropractors’ intensive diagnostic training and comfort with co-management with other medical care as needed. Your chiropractor is prepared to examine, diagnose, and treat your spine-related pain condition no matter its complexity in a cost-effective, gentle, well-researched manner often via The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.