How does chiropractic fit into the current health care model? I know I have a biased opinion on the matter because I am a chiropractor. However, chiropractic has a lot of research to back it up in order to avoid some of the big nasty treatments. I feel that the general public, and especially here in South Lake Tahoe, is improving at doing things on their own to try and keep themselves healthy.
The research article I wanted to highlight addresses the question of “does chiropractic care impact escalated care?” This was specific to low back pain patients, but it applies to a lot of different scenarios as well. First off, they define “escalated care” as being things like emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging like x-ray and MRI, injections, opioids, and surgeries. I am going to give some of the numbers here about the effect that chiropractic care had on these roughly 11,000 patients. One other factor is that the patients received “moderate” chiropractic care, which meant a total of 2-12 chiropractic visits. If patients went to a chiropractor first, they were:
- 27% were less likely to have advanced imaging performed.
- Imaging is an option that is often used with various injuries no matter which provider they see first.
- 74% were less likely to get injections.
- 79% were less likely to have ER visits.
- 60% were less likely to have surgery.
- 63% were less likely to take opioids.
This just goes to show that going to a chiropractor reduces your chances of all these other treatments. One because chiropractors do not offer that type of treatment typically and two chiropractic is a great way to get some relief and be cost effective as well. Anyone that has gone to the ER and looked at the bill knows that these are expensive trips and should be avoided if possible. Obviously, there are times when I, as a chiropractor, have to refer out for various conditions or concerns. However, a chiropractor is a great start to try and get some answers and relief. Chiropractic is a fantastic way to get feeling better all while avoiding things like injections, opioids, and even surgery. When you think about the repercussions of what some of these treatments are, we should try and avoid these treatment if we can. I am not saying that these treatments are always bad, but they have a place. For example, if you get back surgery, your treatment options decrease because you now have hardware in your spine. This is a what if question, but what if you went to a chiropractor first, or physical therapy, etc., and decreased your chance of having surgery. What would you choose? Chiropractors are good at working with low back pain and there are a lot of treatments that we could do way before we get into some of those other escalated treatments.
Let me know if you have any other questions and hope that was interesting.
Feel free to ask any more questions you may have and see you soon.
Tahoe’s Premiere Sports Chiropractor
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