Spine Related Musculoskeletal Pain and Chiropractic

Spine-related musculoskeletal pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work (1). Do you or a loved one experience spine-related musculoskeletal pain? This is an important article that can make the world of difference to you.
 
“As of 2016, health care costs for care related to spinal pain, was estimated at $134.5 billion” (2)
 
Most cases of spine-related musculoskeletal pain can be effectively managed with conservative non-pharmacological and non-invasive approaches, including chiropractic and physical therapists. In the US chiropractic care is one of the most utilized approaches to the treatment of spine-related musculoskeletal pain (3). However, frequently a patient’s course of care is unnecessarily escalated by use of more invasive, hazardous and/or costly procedures which may include surgery, interventional pain medicine techniques and prescription of pharmaceuticals (4). If not taken care of promptly, these issues could become reoccurring and/or chronic and would take longer to resolve or having to result in more invasive procedures.

In recent research literature, a systematic review was done with economic studies, randomized controlled trials and observational studies. Of 2256 citations, 93 articles were screened and 44 studies were included in this review. It was found that spinal pain patients who consulted a chiropractor as their initial provider incurred substantially decreased downstream healthcare services and associated costs compared with medical management (5). Further investigations and studies would help substantiate these findings, but there are positive indications of chiropractic and the management of spine-related musculoskeletal pain being cost efficient and effective.
 
So if you want to find out if chiropractic care may help manage spine-related musculoskeletal pain for you or your loved ones, have a chat with one of our chiropractors to see how they can assist.
 
“With healthcare costs on the rise, it is important to look towards more cost efficient and effective approaches to your health”
 
 
 
1. Global Burden of Disease 2019 Diseases and Injuries Collaborators. Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet (London, England). 2020;396(10258):1204–22.
2. Dieleman JL, Cao J, Chapin A, Chen C, Li Z, Liu A, et al. US health care spending by payer and health condition, 1996–2016. JAMA. 2020;323(9):863–84.
3. Clarke TC, Barnes PM, Black LI, Stussman BJ, Nahin RL. Use of yoga, meditation, and chiropractors among U.S. adults aged 18 and over. NCHS Data Brief. 2018;325:1–8.
4. Whedon JM, Kizhakkeveettil A, Toler AW, Bezdjian S, Rossi D, Uptmor S, et al. Initial choice of spinal manipulation reduces escalation of care for chronic low back pain among older medicare beneficiaries. Spine. 2022;47(4):E142–8.
5. Farabaugh, R., Hawk, C., Taylor, D., Daniels, C., Noll, C., Schneider, M., McGowan, J., Whalen, W., Wilcox, R., Sarnat, R. and Suiter, L., 2024. Cost of chiropractic versus medical management of adults with spine-related musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies, 32(1), p.8.