A question that we field quite often at Accelerate Health is why should someone choose Chiropractic over other health care options? There is certainly a time and place for allopathic medicine to provide surgical intervention and medications as required. However, in many instances conservative health care management through chiropractic can be beneficial at safely treating your condition, preventing future injuries, and being overall more cost effective.
Surgeries come with a host of complications, rehabilitation, recovery times, and high costs. Over $16 billion is spent on spinal fusions annually, with up to a 46% failure rate. These statistics have not changed much in recent years, despite advances in technology, therefore causing the yearly total of failed back surgery patients to rise over time. Often patients will have the same symptoms or WORSE, while having less mobility throughout their spine and limited options to find relief.
Pain medications can mask symptoms, but are typically not designed to treat the cause of your condition. Furthermore, with the recent opiate crisis, (as well as the myriad side effects of many other medications), would it not be better for both your health and your bank account to avoid these choices whenever possible? In contrast, chiropractic care is focused on detecting and correcting the cause of your injury, without the need to go under the knife or spend money on medications that won’t really “make you better”. A Schneider et al article from 2015 illustrates just how much more effective chiropractic care is versus medication based treatments:
A 2007 study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics showed the long term benefits of patients who exclusively use a Chiropractor as their primary care physician. They followed a cohort of patients over 70, 274 member-months during the course of seven years to determine clinical and financial outcomes; The results showedthat the Chiropractic patients “demonstrated decreases of 60.2% in-hospital admissions, 59.0% hospital days, 62.0% outpatient surgeries and procedures, and 85% pharmaceutical costs when compared with conventional medicine IPA performance for the same health maintenance organization product in the same geography and time frame.”
In addition, up to 60% of the population may suffer from low back pain at any given time. A 2010 Liliedahl et al article showed that low back pain initiated by an MD vs a DC demonstrated that Chiro care was up to 20% cheaper in total cost of treatment.
These statistics speak to Chiropractic being a safe, effective, and affordable treatment option. Conservative management should always be your first choice in regards to your health. With the start of the New Year, why not invest in your health? Your long term savings and rewards will be felt both physically and financially.
A 2007 study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics showed the long term benefits of patients who exclusively use a Chiropractor as their primary care physician. They followed a cohort of patients over 70, 274 member-months during the course of seven years to determine clinical and financial outcomes; The results showedthat the Chiropractic patients “demonstrated decreases of 60.2% in-hospital admissions, 59.0% hospital days, 62.0% outpatient surgeries and procedures, and 85% pharmaceutical costs when compared with conventional medicine IPA performance for the same health maintenance organization product in the same geography and time frame.”
In addition, up to 60% of the population may suffer from low back pain at any given time. A 2010 Liliedahl et al article showed that low back pain initiated by an MD vs a DC demonstrated that Chiro care was up to 20% cheaper in total cost of treatment.
These statistics speak to Chiropractic being a safe, effective, and affordable treatment option. Conservative management should always be your first choice in regards to your health. With the start of the New Year, why not invest in your health? Your long term savings and rewards will be felt both physically and financially.
