“What should I do about my back pain? It’s been going on for
so long.”
Sound familiar? It does for many Pensacola chronic low
back pain sufferers. Pensacola Spinal Rehab Center knows
Pensacola
back pain patients wrestle with this problem. There
are a variety of options – rest, exercise, meds, manipulation, chiropractic,
medicine, yoga, acupuncture, surgery, etc. – which makes it difficult
to decide. Recent research has looked at the cost,
safety, and risk of treatment escalation for patients who choose
spinal manipulation
first compared with those who choose opioid
analgesic treatment first for their chronic low back pain. The findings
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 assessed the costs
of opioid analgesic treatment versus those for spinal manipulation
therapy. There were 28,160 participants aged 65-84 years old. 77% started
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) Pensacola Spinal Rehab Center
follows a system of Pensacola chiropractic treatment frequency guided
by the 50% Rule seeking 50% relief of pain within a
month with more visits in the beginning 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? A review
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 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 took 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 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) Pensacola Spinal Rehab Center 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 important 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, emergency room visits,
imaging, back surgery, pain med interventions, and other such encounters
for possible 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. Starting care with
spinal manipulation therapy was linked to lower
rates of escalation of care. The rate of escalated care encounters was 2.5 times
greatear for opioid treatment patients. (3) The use of
Cox® Technic at Pensacola Spinal Rehab Center lessens the need
for escalated care while carefully monitoring each patient for
indications that such may be helpful or needed.
CONTACT Pensacola Spinal Rehab Center
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 via the Cox® Technic Flexion
Distraction System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your Pensacola
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 Pensacola Spinal Rehab Center may well be your next (or
your initial if you are just starting the search
for help) treatment that will help you attain the back pain
relief you want in a cost-effective, safe way.