Comparison Of Plainville Back Pain Relief Via Opioid Or Spinal Manipulation

“What should I do about my back pain? It’s been going on for so long.”

Sound familiar? Sure, it does! Layden Chiropractic knows  Plainville back pain patients struggle with this question. There are a variety of options – rest, exercise, meds, manipulation, chiropractic, medicine, yoga, acupuncture, surgery, etc. – which makes it hard to choose. Recent research has looked at the cost, safety, and risk of treatment escalation for patients who choose spinal manipulation first versus those who choose opioid analgesic treatment initially for their chronic low back pain. The results are interesting.

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 expenses 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 costs for opioid-therapy patients were 58% lower, but long-term overall healthcare expenses were 1.87 times greater for those same opioid patients. (1) Layden Chiropractic follows a system of Plainville chiropractic treatment frequency guided by the 50% Rule seeking 50% relief of pain within 30 days 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? An analysis 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 considered a variety of patient records: patients who only underwent spinal manipulation, only received opioids, began 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 began with opioid therapy initially for their chronic back pain than those who started with spinal manipulation. (2) Layden Chiropractic uses 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 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 linked to reduced 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 Layden Chiropractic minimizes the requirement for escalated care while cautiously monitoring each patient for indications that such may be helpful or needed.

CONTACT Layden 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 via the Cox® Technic Flexion Distraction System of Spinal Pain Management.

Make your Plainville 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 Layden Chiropractic may well be your next (or your initial if you are just starting the search for help) treatment that will get you the back pain relief you want in a cost-effective, safe way. 

 
Layden Chiropractic presents new comparison studies of the safety, cost, and effectiveness in reducing the need for further care of chronic low back pain: opioid vs spinal manipulation treatments. 
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"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by Dr. James M. Cox I."