Chiropractic Care Substantially Reduces Opiate Use for Back Pain
Chiropractic care is an effective treatment option for a variety of symptoms including neck pain, migraine and other headaches, stress relief, muscle aches, fibromyalgia, sciatica, numbness and tingling, auto accident injuries, and more. Recently, researchers identified chiropractic care as a an effective treatment option that not only reduces low back pain, but also substantially reduces the need for opiate drug prescriptions as a treatment option for low back pain.
In March 2020, Drs. James M. Whedon, Andrew W. J. Toler, Louis A. Kazal, Serena Bezdjian, Justin M. Goehl, and Jay Greenstein published an extensive study called, “Impact of Chiropractic Care on Use of Prescription Opioids in Patients with Spinal Pain,” in the journal, Pain Medicine, that evaluated the health claims data from three states over a five year period (2012-2017). Their objective was to evaluate the impact of chiropractic care and opiate prescription use among patients with spinal pain.
The study included patients from 18-84 years old that were enrolled in a heath plan that included doctors appointments to a primary care physician or a chiropractor due to spinal pain. There were two groups of individuals that were compared: individuals that received both primary care and chiropractic care, and those that received primary care but did not receive any chiropractic care.
In their research, the doctors were able to identify 101,221 individuals that reported spinal pain to their doctor. According to the data, “chiropractic recipients are at about half the risk of seeking an opioid over the six year follow-up period.” The data indicates that when a patient sees a chiropractor within the first 30 days of diagnosis of a spinal pain disorder, there is an even greater reduction in opiate use. “Additionally, the protective effect of chiropractic care was sustained beyond 1,200 days after the index date in Massachusetts and beyond 1,500 days in the other states, indicating that once chiropractic treatment has been engaged in the acute phase, patients experience a lasting benefit that is measurable in years.“
The researchers suggest that due to the traditional approach of chiropractic care that involves a series of treatment sessions in valuable for the patient-doctor interaction that allows the chiropractor to effectively manage lifestyle changes, provide ergonomic recommendations, as well as create specific patient focused rehabilitation programs that are adaptable for the patient.
This is not the first study to report significant differences between those that receive chiropractic care for spinal pain verses those that do not. In 2018 a study in New Hampshire found a 55% reduction in the likelihood of opioid prescription use among recipients of chiropractic care verses those that did not use chiropractic care. In 2019 an other study reported that patients that were initially treated by a chiropractor, acupuncturist, or physical therapist had decreased odds of both short term, and long term opioid use as compared to initially being treated by a primary care physician. Additionally, in 2019 a systemic review of six studies comparing the use of chiropractic care and opioid use found that opioid prescription use was significantly lower with those that used chiropractic treatment as opposed to those that did not use the services provided by a chiropractor.
The risks associated with the use of prescription opioid pain medications are well known. Drug overdose resulting in death increased by nearly 10% between 2016 and 2017, with opioid deaths accounting for nearly 48,000 cases, resulting in government and health officials labeling the current opioid problem an “opioid epidemic.”
At The Hayden Institute, we have doctors of chiropractic that are experts in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of back pain. Through the use of chiropractic care, acupuncture, and specific rehabilitation exercises our office can effectively help individuals with spinal pain.