Have you heard it said that numbers don’t lie? With all the numbers out there about back and neck pain
costs and outcomes, we can put that to the test. Wilson Family Chiropractic shares a few of the latest ones that are really interesting and reassuring
of our Millville chiropractic method integrating
the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
OPTIONS USED FOR BACK PAIN VS BACK PAIN GUIDELINE
RECOMMENDATIONS
Treatment guidelines for back pain are well-published. Are they followed? Of 100 million patient
healthcare insurance claims, 56,000 had persistent low back
pain. These patients were not surgical candidates and had experienced conventional medical care. Of those 56,000,
60% underwent physical therapy, 50% underwent
chiropractic, 26% got steroid injections and 66% used
prescribed pain meds (57% opioids, 38% muscle relaxants). Were guidelines followed? Not exactly. At odds with low
back pain treatment guidelines, most patients were prescribed
opioids while several non-drug treatments were used by only a
few. (1) Another report detailed that 775,893 general practitioner
visits led to 6,904 referrals (just 0.89%) to physiotherapy, a
non-pharmacological treatment choice for commonly
referred problems like low back pain and osteoarthritis. (2) The healthcare
costs of these patients were very large. (1) Millville
back pain treatment costs are not that different.
COSTS OF BACK PAIN CARE
A review of Humana healthcare claims resulted in these findings: the pre-operative costs
of conservative treatment alternatives for cervical spine
radiculopathy were only 37.7% of the overall non-operative
costs for this condition. Injection costs were the greatest,
costing $988 on average per patient. Other costs
were – in order of cost expenditure - physical therapy ($510), medications (narcotics,
gabapentin, NSAIDs), bracing ($193), then chiropractic services
($193). 62% of overall costs for care of cervical radiculopathy went
to diagnostic tests and such. (3) Millville neck and back pain patients
have an experienced chiropractor
at Wilson Family Chiropractic.
INTERPROFESSIONAL REFERRAL FOR BACK PAIN CARE
New data revealed a 106% rise
in the number of physician visits for low back pain and extremity pain that resulted in referral to another physician inpart
because of unsuccessful outpatient conservative treatment.
The study that talked about this finding concluded
with the suggestion that patients who are most likely to need surgery would see a surgeon
as their first subspecialty referral visit. Additionally,
patients who are less likely to require surgery would meet with
a non-operative spine specialist or primary care physician. (4)
Your Millville chiropractor at Wilson Family Chiropractic is ready
to be the Millville non-surgical spine specialist this article suggests
for our Millville low back pain and neck pain and arm pain and leg pain
sufferers!
CLINICAL OUTCOMES OF TREATMENT
Of 609 patients with sciatica and back-related leg pain
visiting primary care physicians, only 55% gave an account of ‘improvement’
– just 30% or more reduction in disability - at one year follow-up. (5)
Chiropractors using the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management strive
for at minimum a 50% reduction of pain non-surgically
in 30 days. In a 1000 cases study of Cox® Technic treatment
outcomes, leg pain radicular patients improved significantly more
with Cox® Technic flexion distraction therapy than with physical therapy. (6)
In a study of post-surgical continued back pain patients, 81% of them scored
greater than 50% relief of pain in 11 visits in 49 days (mean). At two your
follow-up, 78.6% of them still had greater than 50% relief of pain.
Mean relief of pain was continued: 71.6% at the end of active
care and 70% at 2-year follow-up. (7) Your Millville chiropractor provides
just such relief and knows when to refer if necessary.
CONTACT Wilson Family Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Byron Folwell on The Back Doctors Podcast with
Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes The Cox® Technic
System of Spinal Pain Management integration for relieving
post-surgical continued back pain.
Make your Millville chiropractic
appointment soon. Do not let numbers worry
you. Let them enlighten your path to pain relief. See
you soon!