How well do you understand your spine and what it requires?
Does your doctor? Does your insurer (ie,
Medicare)? Johnson Chiropractic prides itself on understanding the
spine of each of our Richmond chiropractic patients. Your Richmond
chiropractor assesses your low back when there’s
low back pain, your neck when you have neck pain, your neck when there’s arm pain, your low back when there is
leg pain, your thoracic spine when you have thoracic
(and even neck and low back) pain. Your chiropractor ”gets” your
spine. Unfortunately, sometimes your insurer does not.
The chiropractic profession endeavors to deliver
the research to the insurers to cover essential treatment for
your spine while your Richmond chiropractor strives
to communicate openly with your insurer for your optimal
care and with you for your best clinical outcome: relief of
pain.
YOUR INSURER
Administrators’ data doesn’t tell the whole
story about back pain. In one study that compared
self-reported low back pain to data gathered by
health groups that track low back pain via billing codes
and the like found that these two sources
do not agree. Self-reported data about low back
pain (21.2%) was higher than administration’s data (10.2%).
Characteristics of low back pain patients based on data varied
in several areas – sex, health/behavior traits, and health care use
– leading to an underestimated prevalence of low back pain. (1)
Johnson Chiropractic knows how prevalent back pain is and how it affects our back
pain patients like you.
YOUR BACK PAIN
In a study that specifically examined one influence on back pain - spinal stiffness - from the subjective
patient point of view and the objective testing angle revealed
that these two measures do not correlate well either. At least in
this comparison, real input was from people: patients filling out questionnaires and doctors doing
objective tests. These findings directed the researchers to note
that while these two sources do not correlate well, each is
important in the overall picture of the
patient’s condition and care. (2) Your Richmond chiropractor factors
in this evidence to take care of your spine.
YOUR CHIROPRACTOR
Your Richmond chiropractor is an evidence-based
chiropractor. Evidence guides the spine relief treatment plan at
Johnson Chiropractic. A fascinating study of chiropractic
students found that with
each year of education they became
less vitalistic and more evidence-based. (3) After 7 or so years in school,
your chiropractor is prepared to take care of Richmond
back pain and neck pain patients. The evidence of beneficial chiropractic
spine care keeps expanding! Researchers report today of
how the use of non-pharmacological pain management may inhibit
unnecessary use of opioids. Chiropractic is one type of non-drug
pain management offering. In an
analysis of 101,221 spine pain patients, 1.55 to 2.03 times more non-chiropractic
patients filled an opioid prescription than chiropractic patients. (4)
Further, Medicare beneficiary patients who use chiropractic are found
to have higher clinical outcomes (faster recovery, fewer back
surgeries a year later, less opioid-linked
disability, fewer traumatic falls and injuries, slower declines in activities
of daily living and disability over time) at less cost (fewer
medical doctors visits for low back pain, less opioid expense, less back-surgery
cost) with higher levels of satisfaction. (5) These are not
bad trade-offs for the Medicare cost system and for the Medicare patient.
CONTACT Johnson Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST
by Dr. Lee Hazen and Cheri Hazen RN on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr.
Michael Johnson as they described how non-pharmacological relieving
treatment of back pain using the Cox® Technic System of Spinal
Pain Management and other non-drug approaches help.
Make a non-surgical Richmond
chiropractic care visit with Johnson Chiropractic. Your Richmond chiropractor knows
your spine well and how to relieve it of pain: neck pain, arm pain, low back
pain or leg pain.