Comparison Of Richmond Back Pain Relief Via Opioid Or Spinal Manipulation
“What should I do about my back pain? It’s been going on for so long.”
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 assessed 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% began with SMT. The long-term expenses for opioid-therapy patients were 58% lower, but long-term overall healthcare expenses were 1.87 times higher for those same opioid patients. (1) Johnson Chiropractic follows a system of Richmond chiropractic treatment frequency guided by the 50% Rule seeking 50% relief of pain within a month with more visits in the beginning and less as the pain decreases.
SAFETY OF OPIOIDS VS SMT FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN MEDICARE PATIENTS
Cost is one thing. What about safety? A review 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 underwent spinal manipulation, only received opioids, started 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 quite a bit higher – 42 times higher - for patients who started with opioid therapy initially for their chronic back pain than those who began with spinal manipulation. (2) Johnson Chiropractic 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 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 studied the risk of escalated treatments – 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 Johnson Chiropractic minimizes the requirement for escalated care while carefully monitoring each patient for any signs that such may be helpful or needed.
CONTACT Johnson Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Nike Taylor on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she describes treatment of chronic low back pain with the Cox® Technic Flexion Distraction System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your Richmond chiropractic appointment soon. Whether the answer to the question of “what should I do about my back pain?” was opioid treatment or other care, spinal manipulation at Johnson Chiropractic may well be your next (or your first if you are just beginning the search for help) treatment that will help you attain the back pain relief you are seeking in a cost-effective, safe way.
