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How Chiropractic Can Save You Time And Money: 15 Research Articles

The whole spectrum of healthcare is changing, and one thing that seems to be evident is more people are having to pay more money out of their own pockets for their healthcare. This means finding effective and affordable options are a must.
As a Chiropractor, I am obviously biased that people should be incorporating regular chiropractic care into their lives. Although I definitely could, I am not going to go on and on about how amazing Chiropractic is, or tell of the many patients I've seen over come all sorts of different health obstacles. Instead, I would like to show you how Chiropractic actually puts money and time back in your hands. 
Here are fifteen research articles that show Chiropractic is effective and cost saving when it comes to spine related issues. 
Studies that show the cost benefit of utilizing Chiropractic
  1.     Total treatment costs for back-related injuries averaged $775.30 per case when treated by a chiropractor; $1,665.43 when injured workers received standard medical treatment.(1)
  2.        Average medical care cost for lumbosacral sprain was $3,425, but only $634 when treated with chiropractic.(2)
  3.         Injured workers ... diagnosed with low-back pain returned to work much sooner when treated by chiropractors than by physicians."(3)
  4.         Health care costs for back and neck pain were substantially lower for chiropractic patients than patients receiving medical care ($539 versus $774), respectively.(4)
  5.         Mean total payments were lower for chiropractic care ($518) versus medical care ($1,020).(5)
  6.  Chiropractic treatment was significantly more effective than hospital outpatient treatment, especially in patients with chronic and severe back pain. Significantly fewer patients needed to return for further treatments at the end of the first and second years when receiving chiropractic care vs. medical care (17 percent vs. 24 percent). Highly significant cost savings could be achieved if more management of low-back pain was transferred from physicians to chiropractors.(6)
  7.         Health insurance claims for 395,641 chiropractic and medical care patients indicated that patients who received chiropractic care, solely or in conjunction with medical care, experienced significantly lower health care costs compared with those who received only medical care. Total insurance payments were 30% higher for those who elected medical care only.(7)
  8.        By every test of cost and effectiveness, the general weight of evidence shows chiropractic to provide important therapeutic benefits at economical costs. Additionally, these benefits are achieved with apparently minimal, even negligible, impacts on the costs of health insurance.(8)
  9.       Of 10,652 back-related injuries occurring while on the job, individuals who received chiropractic care compared with standard medical care experienced a (1) 51.3 percent shorter temporary total disability duration; 2) lower treatment cost by 58.8 percent ($558 vs. $1,100 per case); and 3) 20.3 percent hospitalization rate in the chiropractic care group vs. 52.2 percent rate in the medical care group.(9)
  10.        Individuals who received chiropractic care for their back pain returned to work four times faster (6.26 days vs. 25.56 days) and had treatment that cost four times less ($392 vs. $1,569) than those who received treatments from medical doctors.(10)
  11.        Total costs of manual therapy (447 Euro) were around one third of the costs of physiotherapy (1,297 Euro) and general practitioner care (1,379 Euro) for neck pain.(11)
  12.         For the treatment of low back and neck pain, the inclusion of a chiropractic benefit resulted in a reduction in the rates of surgery, advanced imaging, inpatient care, and plain-film radiographs.(12)
  13.         Chiropractic care to be more effective for common, work-related, low back pain (LBP), when compared to treatment by a physical therapist or physician. Overall, chiropractic patients illustrated lower medical expenses, fewer disability recurrences and shorter initial periods of disability.(13)
  14.         A study looked at workers and likelihood of back surgery and found approximately 42.7% of workers who first saw a surgeon had surgery, in contrast to only 1.5% of those who saw a chiropractor. Hence less money spent on treatment and quicker recovery time. (14)
  15.        A study that looked at data over seven years found people how utilized Chiropractic care had an 85% reduction in drug costs, 62.0% reduction in MRIs and surgeries, 60.2% reduction in-hospital admissions, and a 59.0% reduction in hospital days. (15)
1.       Jarvis KB, Phillips RB, Morris EK. Cost per case comparison of back injury claims of chiropractic versus medical management for conditions with identical diagnostic codes. Journal of Occupational Medicine, August 1991;33(8):847-852.
2.       Devitt M. "Work Comp Study: Chiropractic Less Expensive, More Effective Than Medical Care." Dynamic Chiropractic, Nov. 18, 2004;22(24).
3.       Meade TW Dyer S, Browne W, Townsend J, Frank, AO. Low back pain of mechanical origin: randomized comparison of chiropractic and hospital outpatient treatment. British Medical Journal, June 2, 1990;300(6737):1431-1437.
4.       Mosley CD, Cohen IG, Arnold RM. Cost-effectiveness of chiropractic care in a managed care setting. The American Journal of Managed Care, March 1996;2:280-282.
5.       Stano M, Smith M. Chiropractic and medical costs of low back care. Medical Care, March 1996;34(3):191-204.
6.       Manga P, Angus DE, Papadopoulos C, Swan WR. The Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness of Chiropractic Management of Low-Back Pain.
7.       Stano M. Stano/Medstat Research, Oakland University.
8.       Dean DH, Schmidt RM. A comparison of the costs of chiropractors versus alternative medical practitioners, 1992.
9.       Wolk S. An analysis of Florida workers' compensation medical claims for back related injuries, 1988.
10.   Ebrall PS. Mechanical low-back pain: a comparison of medical and chiropractic management within the Victorian work care scheme. Chiropractic Journal of Australia, 1992;22:47-53.
11.   Korthals-de Bos IBC, Hoving JL, van Tulder MW, et al. Cost effectiveness of physiotherapy, manual therapy, and general practitioner care for neck pain: economic evaluation alongside a randomised controlled trial. British Medical Journal, April 26, 2003;326(7395):911.
12.   Nelson CF, Metz RD, LaBrot T. Effects of a managed chiropractic benefit on the use of specific diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in the treatment of low back and neck pain. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics,October 2005;28(8), 564-569.
13.   Health Maintenance Care in Work-Related Low Back Pain and Its Association with Disability Recurrence," (Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, April 2011, Vol. 53 Is. 4, p: 396-404)
14.   Keeney BJ(1), Fulton-Kehoe D, Turner JA, Wickizer TM, Chan KC, Franklin GM. Early predictors of lumbar spine surgery after occupational back injury: results from a prospective study of workers in Washington State. Spine. 2013 May 15;38(11):953-64.
15.   2007 Seven-Year Prospective Follow-Up Study Reveals Chiropractic Management Cuts Health Care Costs Further Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 30(4): 263-269,2007

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