In this 2024 article “Cost of chiropractic versus medical management of adults with spine-related musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review”, researchers found that those that seek chiropractic care first have overall less healthcare costs associated with their condition.
Chiropractic care is a safe, noninvasive treatment that helps heal the body without the use of drugs or surgery. Even better than being out of pain, is that recent research shows it doesn’t have to break your bank!
Cost of chiropractic versus medical management of adults with spine‑related musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review
Ronald Farabaugh, Cheryl Hawk, Dave Taylor, Clinton Daniels, Claire Noll, Mike Schneider, John McGowan, Wayne Whalen, Ron Wilcox, Richard Sarnat, Leonard Suiter and James Whedon
Ronald Farabaugh, Cheryl Hawk, Dave Taylor, Clinton Daniels, Claire Noll, Mike Schneider, John McGowan, Wayne Whalen, Ron Wilcox, Richard Sarnat, Leonard Suiter and James Whedon
Abstract
Background
Background
The cost of spine-related pain in the United States is estimated at $134.5 billion. Spinal pain patients have multiple options when choosing healthcare providers, resulting in variable costs. Escalation of costs occurs when downstream costs are added to episode costs of care. The purpose of this review was to compare costs of chiropractic and medical management of patients with spine-related pain.
Methods
Methods
A Medline search was conducted from inception through October 31, 2022, for cost data on U.S. adults
treated for spine-related pain. The search included economic studies, randomized controlled trials and observational studies. All studies were independently evaluated for quality and risk of bias by 3 investigators and data extraction was performed by 3 investigators.
Results
treated for spine-related pain. The search included economic studies, randomized controlled trials and observational studies. All studies were independently evaluated for quality and risk of bias by 3 investigators and data extraction was performed by 3 investigators.
Results
The literature search found 2256 citations, of which 93 full-text articles were screened for eligibility. Forty-four
studies were included in the review, including 26 cohort studies, 17 cost studies and 1 randomized controlled trial. All included studies were rated as high or acceptable quality. Spinal pain patients who consulted chiropractors as first providers needed fewer opioid prescriptions, surgeries, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, specialist referrals and injection procedures.
studies were included in the review, including 26 cohort studies, 17 cost studies and 1 randomized controlled trial. All included studies were rated as high or acceptable quality. Spinal pain patients who consulted chiropractors as first providers needed fewer opioid prescriptions, surgeries, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, specialist referrals and injection procedures.
Conclusion
Patients with spine-related musculoskeletal pain who consulted a chiropractor as their initial provider
incurred substantially decreased downstream healthcare services and associated costs, resulting in lower overall healthcare costs compared with medical management. The included studies were limited to mostly retrospective cohorts of large databases. Given the consistency of outcomes reported, further investigation with higher-level designs is warranted.
incurred substantially decreased downstream healthcare services and associated costs, resulting in lower overall healthcare costs compared with medical management. The included studies were limited to mostly retrospective cohorts of large databases. Given the consistency of outcomes reported, further investigation with higher-level designs is warranted.
