Research shows that chiropractic care is a great option to help you feel your best without breaking the bank. ^{1 2}

Cost can be a big factor when we make decisions about our healthcare. Researchers have been looking at the most cost-effective healthcare options for people with back and neck pain. Keep reading to find out what the research says.

Chiropractic care can save you money and help you to get back to work faster

For patients with neck or back pain, chiropractic care is a very cost-effective option and costs less in the long term than medical care or physical therapy.^1-3

What does the research show?

Researchers reviewed 9 years of claims data from an insurance scheme in North Carolina that included about 660,000 people and over 6 million back and neck pain claims. ^{1 2}

They considered the patient’s age, gender, and health history and then looked at how much each claim cost based on whether the care provider was a medical doctor, physical therapist, or a chiropractor.

They also looked at the cost of the claim if they offered the patients advice, hoping they’d get better by themselves and not need any healthcare. In these studies, they found that the claims for the patients a chiropractor saw cost significantly less than those managed by another healthcare provider.

In fact, by the final year of this 9-year study, the cost of a claim was 2 to 5 times more expensive when a chiropractor was not one of the care providers. And the claims managed by a chiropractor cost even less than the claims for patients who were given advice alone because it would appear that those people ended up taking more time off work than those who saw a chiropractor.

References

1. Neck Pain in North Carolina, 2000 to 2009: A Statewide Claims’ Data Analysis. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2016;39(4):240-51. doi: 10.1016/j. jmpt.2016.02.007 [published Online First: 2016/05/12]
2. Hurwitz EL, Li D, Guillen J, et al. Variations in Patterns of Utilization and Charges for the Care of Low Back Pain in North Carolina, 2000 to 2009: A Statewide Claims’ Data Analysis. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2016;39(4):252-62.
   doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2016.02.006 [published Online First: 2016/05/12]
3. 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 : official publication of the Industrial Medical Association 1991;33(8):847-52. [published Online First: 1991/08/01]

Acknowledgments

• Dr. Heidi Haavik – BSc(Physiol) BSc(Chiro) PhD
• Dr. Kelly Holt – BSc, BSc(Chiro), PGDipHSc, PhD
• Dr. Jenna Duehr – BChiro, BHSC (Nursing), MHSc