“What should I do about my back pain? It’s been going on for
so long.”
Sound familiar? It does for many Burlington and Hamilton chronic low
back pain sufferers. Spinal Care Clinic knows
Burlington and Hamilton
back pain patients wrestle with this problem. There
are many options – rest, exercise, meds, manipulation, chiropractic,
medicine, yoga, acupuncture, surgery, etc. – which makes it hard
to choose. Recent studies have looked at the cost,
safety, and risk of treatment escalation for patients who choose
spinal manipulation
initially versus those who choose opioid
analgesic treatment first for their chronic low back pain. The findings
are interesting.
COSTS OF OPIOID VS SMT FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN MEDICARE
PATIENTS
Chronic low back pain is a costly condition, but just how
costly is it? A review of Medicare health spendings
for long-term care of chronic low back pain compared the costs
of opioid analgesic treatment opposed to those for spinal manipulation
therapy. There were 28,160 participants aged 65-84 years old. 77% began
with opioid therapy for their chronic low back pain. 23% started
with SMT. The long-term costs for opioid-therapy patients were 58%
lower, but long-term overall healthcare expenditures were 1.87
times higher for those same opioid patients. (1) Spinal Care Clinic
follows a system of Burlington and Hamilton chiropractic treatment frequency steered
by the 50% Rule seeking 50% relief of pain within a
month with more visits initially and fewer
as the pain reduces.
SAFETY OF OPIOIDS VS SMT FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN MEDICARE
PATIENTS
Cost is one thing. What about safety? An analysis
of patient files of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 to 84 with chronic low back
pain for 5 years looked at the long-term safety of two usual
treatment options for chronic low back pain: opioid
analgesic therapy and spinal manipulation therapy. The researchers considered
a few types of patient records: patients who only received
spinal manipulation, only received opioids, began with
opioids then underwent spinal manipulation, and began
with spinal manipulation then supplemented with opioids. What did
they find? The risk of adverse drug events was substantially
higher – 42 times higher - for patients who began with opioid
therapy initially for their chronic back pain than those who started with spinal manipulation. (2) Spinal Care Clinic utilizes the
well research-documented, safe, gentle protocols of Cox® Technic.
ESCALATION OF CARE RISK FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN MEDICARE
PATIENTS
Research documents another important factor in
back pain treatment: how well does a treatment help the patient avoid more complex treatment? A third review of
Medicare patient data looked at
escalation of care risk – hospital stays, ER visits,
imaging, back surgery, pain med interventions, and other types of encounters
for potential complications of chronic low back pain – in long-term
chronic low back pain care patients who began with opioid analgesic
therapy or spinal manipulation therapy. Commencing care with
spinal manipulation therapy was linked to lower
rates of escalation of care. The rate of escalated care encounters was 2.5 times
higher for opioid care patients. (3) The use of
Cox® Technic at Spinal Care Clinic lessens the need
for escalated care while cautiously monitoring each patient for
indications that such may be helpful or needed.
CONTACT Spinal Care Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Nike Taylor on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she discusses
treatment of chronic low back pain via the Cox® Technic Flexion
Distraction System of Spinal Pain Management.
Set up your Burlington and Hamilton
chiropractic appointment today. Whether the answer
to the question of “what should I do about my back pain?” was opioid treatment
or other care, spinal manipulation at Spinal Care Clinic may well be your next (or
your initial if you are just beginning the search
for help) treatment that will help you attain the back pain
relief you want in a cost-effective, safe way.