Back Pain? Don’t Wait.

The first 3 days of a back injury are the most important.

Data recently released from a large national health insurance company indicates that treating a spine related back injury within the first three days dramatically decreases the amount of time and money spent on getting the patient back to normal activity.

This data was gleaned from over 16 million episodes of non-surgical back pain, and more than 800,000 different providers including medical doctors and chiropractic doctors. If chiropractic manipulation and other physical therapies were performed in the first few days the cost ($1,050) decreased by almost half. If, however, patients went to the Hospital ED/Urgent Care and imaging – MRI was performed in the first few days the cost ($3,479) more than tripled.  In case you were wondering, patients in both groups fully recovered either way and none of them required surgery.

Notably, those patients who waited more than 30 days to seek manipulative therapy resulted in almost double the cost ($1,907) per episode. Those who waited more than a month go to the Hospital ED/Urgent Care and had imaging – MRI resulted in higher cost ($3,863) as well. And again, patients in both groups fully recovered either way and none of them required surgery.

What can we learn?

1) When you injure your back, do not wait more than a few days to seek care. Waiting for your back pain “to get better on it’s own” will likely cost you more time and more money. And, start with chiropractic care instead of Hospital ED/Urgent Care.

2) Go to a chiropractor first if you want to get better faster from spine-related back pain. In the vast majority of cases, starting with the Hospital ED/Urgent Care and having imaging – MRI will not change the outcome, and it will cost you more time and money.

Want to know more?

If you would like to know more about today’s chiropractic care, call our office at 330-877-3177 to schedule a consultation with us. Our doctors specialize in the treatment of back pain, neck pain, headaches, and other complaints. Mention this blog post when you call, and receive a complimentary assessment and consultation.