Chiropractic Most Affordable Option for Neck Discomfort

Over the years, Dr. Keith has helped many men and women in Rockwall, TX heal from chronic neck pain. This isn't unusual, as research shows that chiropractic care results in undeniable improvements for 94% of neck pain sufferers. But how does chiropractic measure up to other conservative treatments in the management of neck problems?

To answer that question, it's useful to look back at an interesting study from 2003 printed in the British Medical Journal. The research reviewed a variety of conservative treatments and concluded that manual therapy was the most practical alternative for neck pain.

Specialists from the Netherlands were concerned with comparing not only the expenses linked with manual therapy but how successfully manual therapy provided relief compared to other treatment methods. They randomly assigned 183 patients who suffered from intense neck pain to receive care from manual therapists (MT), physiotherapists (PT), or general practitioners (GP).

The patients receiving manual therapy had the fastest recovery rate. After seven weeks of care, 68% of the MT group had healed, as opposed to 51% of the PT group and 36% of the GP group. These variances in improvement rates were still statistically significant after 26 weeks but not after 52 weeks.

To compute costs of treatment methods, the authors looked at direct costs such as appointments with the healthcare provider and the prices of prescription drugs, in addition to secondary costs such as work absences and travel time. The manual therapy group had substantially reduced costs, with patients spending only a third of the costs spent by those in the PT and GP groups. On average, manual therapy patients had roughly $611 in costs compared to $1773 in the physiotherapy group and $1885 in the general practitioner group (or 447 euros, 1297 euros, and 1379 euros, respectively). Only 9 patients in the MT group claimed missed work as a result of neck pain, compared to twelve in the PT group and fifteen in the GP group.

The lowered cost likely stemmed from the fact that MT patients were using considerably less prescription medications and required fewer treatment interventions thanks to quicker recovery rates. The authors concluded that manual therapy, particularly spinal mobilization, is less expensive and more successful at alleviating neck pain than physiotherapy or treatment from a general practitioner.

Dr. Keith has worked with many people who have struggled with neck pain. If you live in Rockwall, TX and would like to stop dealing with chronic neck pain, give our office a call at (972) 771-9448 for an assessment.