Comparison Of Groton 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? An analysis of Medicare health spendings 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) Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office follows a system of Groton chiropractic treatment frequency steered by the 50% Rule looking for 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? 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 common approaches to chronic low back pain: opioid analgesic therapy and spinal manipulation therapy. The researchers studied a variety of patient records: patients who only underwent spinal manipulation, only received opioids, started with opioids then underwent spinal manipulation, and started with spinal manipulation then supplemented with opioids. What did they discover? The risk of adverse drug events was quite a bit higher – 42 times higher - for patients who started with opioid therapy first for their chronic back pain than those who commenced care with spinal manipulation. (2) Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office 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 keep a patient from having to undergo 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 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. 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 greatear for opioid care patients. (3) The use of Cox® Technic at Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office lessens the need for escalated care while cautiously monitoring each patient for any signs that such may be helpful or needed.
CONTACT Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office
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.
Schedule your Groton chiropractic appointment now. Whether the answer to the question of “what should I do about my back pain?” was opioid treatment or other care, spinal manipulation at Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office may well be your next (or your initial if you are just beginning the search for help) treatment that will get you the back pain relief you are seeking in a cost-effective, safe way.
