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

 

Back pain and neck pain are often painful as well as costly and oftentimes complex. Overall health care spending in the United State keeps increasing: $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 reported that $400 to $500 million was spent each year. They also noted that more accessibility to chiropractic lowered the reliance on primary care services for painful spinal conditions. Further, some financial savings for management of spine pain conditions was reported for ambulatory patients that may well equate to large 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, most often elected to use spinal manipulation for clinical treatments of spinal conditions and soft tissue approaches for extremity pain conditions. (3) Chiropractors are well-trained to diagnose co-morbidities, conditions that spine pain patients experience in addition to spine pain that are not related to the spine. Researchers are presently collecting data that will reveal just how many of these types of conditions chiropractors find in their patients. (4) This existence of non-spine related conditions is the basis for chiropractors’ intensive diagnostic training and familiarity with co-management with other medical care as is necessary. Your chiropractor is ready to examine, diagnose, and treat your spine-related pain condition regardless of its complexity in a cost-effective, gentle, evidence-based manner often via The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.