Chiropractic is cost-effective

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov 15, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A study finds chiropractic and medical care have comparable costs for treating chronic low-back pain, with chiropractic care producing better outcomes.

Although several cost-effectiveness studies outside the United States have favorably compared chiropractic with medical care, researchers say the new study is one of the first to compare low-back treatment costs and outcomes in the U.S. healthcare system.

The Arlington, Va.-based American Chiropractic Association says back pain associated costs in the United States are estimated to reach $48 billion this year, and, at any given time, 80 percent of the U.S. population suffers from back pain.

The study involved 2,780 patients with mechanical low-back pain who referred themselves to 60 doctors of chiropractic and 111 medical doctors in 64 community clinics in Oregon and one in Vancouver, Wash.

Office costs alone for chiropractic treatment of low-back pain were higher than for medical care. However, when costs of advanced imaging and referral fees were included, chiropractic care costs were 16 percent lower than medical care costs. The study did not include over-the-counter drugs, hospitalization, or surgical costs.

The findings appear in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics.

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