LOW BACK PAINLow back pain, it is freely admitted, is imposing a real, rapidly increasing and substantial economic burden on society, despite the technological advances in recent years. Perhaps because of the those high-tech advances. A general pessimism prevails, owing to the disabling nature of chronic low back pain, the economics, and the great expense to the patient, the insurer, and the loss of productivity in their place of work.
The economic burden of a disease is the sum of all costs associated with that condition which would not otherwise be incurred if that disease did not exist. Short Leg?Research confirms that a short leg (more than 4-5mm) does indeed contribute to low back pain, scoliosis and arthritis in the low back, hips and knees. Read more …LEG LENGTH INEQUALITY RESEARCH >>LEG LENGTH INEQUALITY CaseFile LEG LENGTH INEQUALITY and LOW BACK PAIN. ATHEROSCLEROSIS SYMPTOMS - Low Back Pain: SMOKING and CHOLESTEROL.Every chiropractor knows it, and it's the most important factor in failed back surgery, that the patient who smokes and/or has raised serum cholesterol is much more difficult to manage.Why is that? Chiropractic Help will help you grasp why ...
FROM THE COAL FACEMrs S. consulted me yesterday, and my secretary was soon cursing. I started running late. Why?Mrs S. is an elderly lady. She could barely walk two months ago when she first consulted me, so bad was the pain in her groin and her lumbar region. Actually sacro-iliac pain, but never mind. 'Doctor, I have to stop treatment, I'm afraid.' 'Oh, why?' That's me speaking. 'I just can't afford your fees any more.' 'I can understand. You're not the first. But how are you doing?' 'Oh, I am so much better. I can walk again, and I can sleep on that hip now. I really want to thank you. I don't want to appear ungrateful, but this will be my last consultation.' The fact of the matter is that health care is expensive. And my fees are amongst the lowest in town. Mrs S and I came to a compromise. She is 1000% better, but I know if we completely stop treatment, it won't be too many months before she slowly slides back to where she was. As they say: 'Old age is a bugger, and then you die!' She is coming in for a six weekly consult for the next three months, and then we will reassess the situation.
Click on the orange RSS sign if you want regular reminders from CHIROPRACTIC HELP of new material added to this website. It doesn't spam your email inbox, just you get a reminder when going onto the web. Would the economic saving by avoiding expensive surgery, and using more conservative means actually provide in the long term a lower sum of total costs? Would the savings associated with sending a patient with low back pain back to the work place too soon, with the attendant risk of relapse, be greater or less than the acknowledged increasing risk of allowing the patient to remain too long away from work? Is your work hard and physical? Then obviously return to the work place must be done with care and guidance. Recognise the artist? You should! The master van Gogh himself.
(1) DIRECT COSTSLower lumbar back pain economics would include the services of medical doctors and complementary practitioners such as chiropractors, medication, hospitals, scans etc. These are relatively easy to estimate, but it would also include the cost of travel to the doctor and even renovations to their home to make it more accessible to a person disabled by chronic LBP.Economic surveys of 10 countries found that 65% of direct costs went to medical care, excluding imaging, whereas only 5% was allocated to Chiropractic Help care in the treatment of LBP. (2) INDIRECT COSTSLower lumbar back pain causes loss of productivity due to sick leave, ‘absenteeism’ and decreased presence due to so-call ‘presenteeism’ is staggeringly large in economics, and is where chiropractic really comes into its own: numerous Workman’s Compensation studies conclude that chiropractors get their patients back on the job sooner.Lost earnings, early retirement and replacement of vital employees – called ‘friction’ cost are included in indirect costs of economics. It would also include the need to hire help both in the home and to do routine maintenance around the house, not done due to low back pain. Lost productivity costs due to low back pain was estimated at $16.9 billion in a 2006 US economics study. (Spine 31) (3) INTANGIBLE COSTSEconomic costs should also reflect the value of decreased enjoyment of life because of illness. However, these costs are rarely included when estimating the economic burden of an illness because of general societal discomfort with placing a monetary value on these aspects of a disease.DEGENERATIVE LUMBAR DISC DISEASE CaseFileJust imagine what the Direct, Indirect and Intangible costs of this case file would amount too. Just for starters, simply correcting her short leg may well have saved her medical insurance two hip replacements. DEGENERATIVE LUMBAR DISC DISEASE CaseFileFurther studies point that overall this is also to the patient’s benefit, and not only the employer and the health insurer. Furthermore, exercise, rehabilitation and fear avoidance training are all considered vital in achieving a good end result in the care of the patient suffering from lower lumbar back pain. $342 per patient for those consulting (mainly) chiropractors –vs- $506 for those consulting medical doctors (and this excluded lumbar spinal surgery and hospital costs). *Spine is one of the most respected medical journals.
However, in the long term, this percentage dropped indicating that more emphasis should be placed by chiropractors into rehabilitation and continuing care to prevent re-occurrence of lumbago. * JMPT is a respected chiropractic journal. There just is no substitute for a simple set of Low Back Pain Exercises, though learning to do them correctly, and choosing the right ones for your condition usually requires professional chiropractic help. Provided you are sensible, and don't have in mind that you are preparing for the London Olympics! you may want to try some of these. Exercise class benefits. Take it slowly, you've been warned!
Useful Links to prevent Lumbar Surgery ...Go from LBP to SLIPPED DISKGo from LBP to CHIROPRACTIC HELP home page. Newsletter from Chiropractic Help.Sign up for our monthly newsletter. It's chock-a-block full of ideas about chiropractic help, exercise, diet ... It's free.
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