“What should I do about my back pain? It’s been going on for
so long.”
Sound familiar? It does for many Vancouver chronic low
back pain sufferers. Vancouver Disc Centers knows
Vancouver
back pain patients struggle with this problem. There
are many options – rest, exercise, meds, manipulation, chiropractic,
medicine, yoga, acupuncture, surgery, etc. – which makes it difficult
to decide. Recent studies have looked at the cost,
safety, and risk of treatment escalation for patients who choose
spinal manipulation
initially compared with those who choose opioid
analgesic treatment initially for their chronic low back pain. The results
are thought-provoking.
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 expenditures
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 expenses for opioid-therapy patients were 58%
lower, but long-term overall healthcare expenditures were 1.87
times greater for those same opioid patients. (1) Vancouver Disc Centers
follows a system of Vancouver chiropractic treatment frequency steered
by the 50% Rule seeking 50% relief of pain within 30 days 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 studied the long-term safety of two common
treatment options for chronic low back pain: opioid
analgesic therapy and spinal manipulation therapy. The researchers considered
a variety of patient records: patients who only underwent
spinal manipulation, only received opioids, began with
opioids then had 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 began with spinal manipulation. (2) Vancouver Disc Centers uses the
well research-documented, safe, gentle protocols of Cox® Technic.
ESCALATION OF CARE RISK FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN MEDICARE
PATIENTS
Research documents another key 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, emergency room 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 reduced
rates of escalation of care. The rate of escalated care encounters was 2.5 times
higher for opioid treatment patients. (3) The use of
Cox® Technic at Vancouver Disc Centers lessens the requirement
for escalated care while carefully monitoring each patient for
indications that such may be helpful or needed.
CONTACT Vancouver Disc Centers
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 with the Cox® Technic Flexion
Distraction System of Spinal Pain Management.
Make your Vancouver
chiropractic appointment soon. Whether the response
to the question of “what should I do about my back pain?” was opioid treatment
or other care, spinal manipulation at Vancouver Disc Centers may well be your next (or
your first if you are just beginning the search
for help) treatment that will get you the back pain
relief you want in a cost-effective, safe way.