They say 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. New Hampshire Spine and Sport shares a few of the more recent ones that are really interesting and reassuring of our Southern New Hampshire 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-established. Are they observed? Of 100 million patient healthcare insurance claims, 56,000 experienced persistent low back pain. These patients were not surgical candidates and had undergone conventional medical care. Of those 56,000, 60% underwent physical therapy, 50% experienced chiropractic, 26% received steroid injections and 66% took prescribed pain meds (57% opioids, 38% muscle relaxants). Were guidelines followed? Not exactly. At odds with low back pain treatment guidelines, most patients were given opioids while several non-drug treatments were utilized 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 frequently referred problems like low back pain and osteoarthritis. (2) The healthcare costs of these patients were quite substantial. (1) Southern New Hampshire back pain treatment costs don’t vary that much.
COSTS OF BACK PAIN CARE
A review of Humana healthcare claims resulted in these findings: the pre-surgical costs of conservative treatment alternatives for cervical spine radiculopathy were only 37.7% of the total non-surgical expenses for this condition. Injection costs were the highest, coming in at $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 were for diagnostic tests and such. (3) Southern New Hampshire neck and back pain sufferers have an experienced chiropractor at New Hampshire Spine and Sport.
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 partly because of ineffective outpatient conservative treatment. The study that discussed this finding ended with the suggestion that patients who are most likely to need surgery would be referred to as their first subspeciality, a surgeon. Further, patients who are less likely to need surgery would see a non-operative spine specialist or primary care physician. (4) Your Southern New Hampshire chiropractor at New Hampshire Spine and Sport is well-prepared to be the Southern New Hampshire non-surgical spine specialist this article describes for our Southern New Hampshire 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% reported ‘improvement’ – just 30% or more decrease 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 better with Cox® Technic flexion distraction therapy than with physical therapy. (6) In a study of post-surgical continued back pain patients, 81% of them reported 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 Southern New Hampshire chiropractor delivers just such relief and understands when to refer if needed.
CONTACT New Hampshire Spine and Sport
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.
Schedule your Southern New Hampshire chiropractic appointment soon. Don’t let numbers worry you. Let them enlighten your path to pain relief. See you soon!