Comparison Of Vancouver 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% started with SMT. The long-term expenses for opioid-therapy patients were 58% lower, but long-term overall healthcare expenses 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 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 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 received spinal manipulation, only took opioids, began with opioids then had spinal manipulation, and began with spinal manipulation then added opioids. What did they find? The risk of adverse drug events was quite a bit 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 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 looked at escalation of care risk – hospital stays, emergency room visits, imaging, back surgery, pain med interventions, and other such encounters for potential complications of chronic low back pain – in long-term chronic low back pain care patients who started with opioid analgesic therapy or spinal manipulation therapy. Starting care with spinal manipulation therapy was associated with reduced 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 Vancouver Disc Centers lessens the requirement for escalated care while cautiously monitoring each patient for any signs 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.
Set up your Vancouver 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 Vancouver Disc Centers 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 are seeking in a cost-effective, safe way.
