Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic

Addressing The Burden Of Spine-Related Disorders Through Integrated Value-Based Care

By Frank M. Painter|February 19, 2025|Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic, Integrative Care, Nonpharmacologic Therapies|

Addressing The Burden Of Spine-Related Disorders Through Integrated Value-Based Care

SOURCE: Health Affairs Forefront, February 12, 2025

Ryan Burdick • Christian Péan Sara • Holleran Inga Morken • Christine Goertz

Faculty of Health Sciences,
Ontario Tech University.

Editor’s Note:

This article is the latest in the Health Affairs Forefront series, Accountable Care for Population Health, featuring analysis and discussion of how to understand, design, support, and measure patient-centered, cost-efficient care under the umbrella of accountable care. Readers are encouraged to review the Call for Submissions for this series. We are grateful to Arnold Ventures for their support of this work.

The unsustainable rise of health care costs in the US, coupled with suboptimal health outcomes, is driving both conversation and real action toward value-based care (VBC) models in this country. There is no more low-hanging fruit for this effort than spine-related disorders. Low back and neck pain cost us more than $134 billion annually and continues to rise at a rate more than twice that of overall health spending despite the fact that it is already at or near the top of all direct health care expenditures.

Despite aggressive and often invasive treatment approaches, low back pain remains the leading cause of physical disability worldwide with neck pain not far behind. This divergence between cost and outcomes is driven largely by the sustained use of expensive and ineffective treatments that can lead to more harm than benefit. Overreliance on prescription opioids began in the early 2000s, based on weak evidence suggesting that these medications were safe and effective treatments. In addition, the US maintains a higher rate of surgical interventions, more frequent specialist consultations for initial diagnoses, and consistently higher use of medically unnecessary advanced imaging.

Recognizing the profound impact of spine-related disorders, organizations including the

American College of Physicians, the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the

World Health Organization

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Cost of Chiropractic Versus Medical Management of Adults with Spine-related Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review

By Frank M. Painter|May 8, 2024|Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic, Initial Provider, Spinal Pain|

Cost of Chiropractic Versus Medical Management of Adults with Spine-related Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2024 (Mar 6); 32: 8

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Ronald Farabaugh • Cheryl Hawk • Dave Taylor • Clinton Daniels • Claire Noll • Mike Schneider • John McGowan • Wayne Whalen • Ron Wilcox • Richard Sarnat • Leonard Suiter • James Whedon

American Chiropractic Association,
2008 St. Johns Avenue,
Highland Park, Illiois. 60035
Arlington, VA, USA.

FROM: Houweling, JMPT 2015

Background: The cost of spine-related pain in the United States is estimated at $134.5 billion. Spinal pain patients have multiple options when choosing healthcare providers, resulting in variable costs. Escalation of costs occurs when downstream costs are added to episode costs of care. The purpose of this review was to compare costs of chiropractic and medical management of patients with spine-related pain.

Methods: A Medline search was conducted from inception through October 31, 2022, for cost data on U.S. adults treated for spine-related pain. The search included economic studies, randomized controlled trials and observational studies. All studies were independently evaluated for quality and risk of bias by 3 investigators and data extraction was performed by 3 investigators.

Results: The literature search found 2256 citations, of which 93 full-text articles were screened for eligibility. Forty-four studies were included in the review, including 26 cohort studies, 17 cost studies and 1 randomized controlled trial. All included studies were rated as high or acceptable quality. Spinal pain patients who consulted chiropractors as first providers needed fewer opioid prescriptions, surgeries, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, specialist referrals and injection procedures.

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Chiropractic Care for Workers with Low Back Pain

By Frank M. Painter|December 31, 2023|Chiropractic Management, Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic, Workers' Compensation|

Chiropractic Care for Workers with Low Back Pain

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Workers Compensation Research Institute (May 17, 2022)
Dongchun Wang, Kathryn Mueller, Randall Lea, M.D., Donald R. Murphy

Related Topics: Medical Costs, Outcomes for Injured Workers, Physical Medicine, Utilization

Cambridge, MA, May 17, 2022 — Today, the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) announced the release of a new study on chiropractic care for low back pain. The study reveals substantial variation in the use of chiropractic care across 28 states and offers insights into the patterns and outcomes of chiropractic care.

“Chiropractors often participate in the delivery of physical medicine services for low back pain, but few workers received chiropractic care in states where employers or insurers control the selection of providers,” said John Ruser, WCRI’s president and CEO. “This study will be helpful for policymakers and stakeholders who are interested in re-evaluating the role of chiropractors, especially those who have been adopting evidence-based practices and contributing to cost-effective care.”

This study, Chiropractic Care for Workers with Low Back Pain, describes the prevalence of chiropractic care and provider patterns of physical medicine treatment for workers with low back pain. It provides some evidence as to how different provider patterns of physical medicine treatment are associated with variations in overall medical and indemnity costs, and the duration of temporary disability. The study also looks at the utilization of medical services, including magnetic imaging studies, opioid prescriptions, and pain management injections.

The following is a sample of the study’s key findings:

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Characteristics, Expectations, Experiences of Care, and Satisfaction of Patients Receiving Chiropractic Care in a French University Hospital in Toulouse (France) Over One Year: A Case Study

By Frank M. Painter|June 10, 2022|Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic, Patient Satisfaction|

Characteristics, Expectations, Experiences of Care, and Satisfaction of Patients Receiving Chiropractic Care in a French University Hospital in Toulouse (France) Over One Year: A Case Study

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2022 (Mar 9); 23 (1): 229

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Mallard F, Lemeunier N, Mior S, Pecourneau V, and Côté P

Division of Graduate Studies,
Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC),
Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

FROM: ChiroUp (2021)

Background: In October 2017, a partnership was established between the University Hospital of Toulouse and the French Chiropractic College, “Institut Franco-Européen de Chiropraxie” (IFEC). Before 2017, chiropractors did not practice in hospitals in France. Chiropractic students and chiropractors are now integrated in an interdisciplinary medical team at University Hospital. Our study aimed to describe the characteristics of patients who received chiropractic care at the University Hospital of Toulouse, their expectations, experiences of care, and satisfaction.

Method: A prospective case study was conducted. Patients referred for chiropractic care in the French University Hospital of Toulouse from January to December 2020 were eligible to participate. Participants provided the following data: demographics, previous chiropractic care treatments, pain location, intensity (NRS) and duration, disability (NDI, ODI), health-related quality of life (SF-12) and depressive symptomatology (PHQ-9). We conducted semi-structured interviews to explore their expectations, barriers and facilitators impacting their experience of care, and satisfaction.

Method: Seventeen participants were recruited and seven were interviewed. All participants had chronic pain with a median pain intensity of 05/10 (IQR 04-06) on the NRS scale. Nine of 17 participants presented with multiple pain locations. Thirteen of seventeen participants presented with low back pain and eight with neck pain. The median SF-12 health-related quality of life score was 50/100 (IQR 28.5-60.5) for physical health, and 52/100 (IQR 43-62) for mental health. The PHQ-9 median score of depressive symptomatology was 7.7/27 (IQR 2.0-12.5). Overall, participants were satisfied with their care and the collaboration between chiropractors and physicians. Participants expected a caring communication with the chiropractic team. Their experience was facilitated by their trust in their physician. Patients perceived the turnover of chiropractic students as a barrier to their satisfaction.

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Where to Start? A Two Stage Residual Inclusion Approach to Estimating Influence of the Initial Provider on Health Care Utilization and Costs for Low Back Pain in the US

By Frank M. Painter|May 28, 2022|Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic, Initial Provider|

Where to Start? A Two Stage Residual Inclusion Approach to Estimating Influence of the Initial Provider on Health Care Utilization and Costs for Low Back Pain in the US

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: BMC Health Serv Res 2022 (May 23); 22 (1): 694

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Kenneth J. Harwood, Jesse M. Pines, C. Holly A. Andrilla & Bianca K. Frogner

College of Health and Education,
Marymount University,
Arlington, VA, USA.

Background: Diagnostic testing and treatment recommendations can vary when medical care is sought by individuals for low back pain (LBP), leading to variation in quality and costs of care. We examine how the first provider seen by an individual at initial diagnosis of LBP influences downstream utilization and costs.

Methods: Using national private health insurance claims data, individuals age 18 or older were retrospectively assigned to cohorts based on the first provider seen at the index date of LBP diagnosis. Exclusion criteria included individuals with a diagnosis of LBP or any serious medical conditions or an opioid prescription recorded in the 6 months prior to the index date. Outcome measures included use of imaging, back surgery rates, hospitalization rates, emergency department visits, early- and long-term opioid use, and costs (out-of-pocket and total costs of care) twelve months post-index date. We used a two-stage residual inclusion (2SRI) estimation approach comparing copay for the initial provider visit and differential distance as the instrumental variable to reduce selection bias in the choice of first provider, controlling for demographics.

Results: Among 3,799,593 individuals, cost and utilization varied considerably based on the first provider seen by the patient. Copay and differential distance provided similar results, with copay preserving a greater sample size. The frequency of early opioid prescription was significantly lower when care began with an acupuncturist or chiropractor, and highest for those who began with an emergency medicine physician or advanced practice registered nurse (APRN). Long-term opioid prescriptions were low across most providers except physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians and APRNs. The frequency and time to serious illness varied little across providers. Total cost of care was lowest when starting with a chiropractor ($5,093) or primary care physician ($5,660), and highest when starting with an orthopedist ($9,434) or acupuncturist ($9,205).

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Attitudes Towards Chiropractic: A Repeated Cross-sectional Survey of Canadian Family Physicians

By Frank M. Painter|January 19, 2022|All About Chiropractic, Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic|

Attitudes Towards Chiropractic: A Repeated Cross-sectional Survey of Canadian Family Physicians

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: BMC Family Practice 2021 (Sep 15); 22 (1): 188

Jason W. Busse, DC, PhD; Sushmitha Pallapothu, BSc; Brian Vinh, BSc; Vivienne Lee, BSc; et. al.

Department of Health Research Methods,
Evidence, and Impact,
McMaster University,
Hamilton, ON, Canada.

Background: Many primary care patients receive both medical and chiropractic care; however, interprofessional relations between physicians and chiropractors are often suboptimal which may adversely affect care of shared patients. We surveyed Canadian family physicians in 2010 to explore their attitudes towards chiropractic and re-administered the same survey a decade later to explore for changes in attitudes.

Methods: A 50-item survey administered to a random sample of Canadian family physicians in 2010, and again in 2019, that inquired about demographic variables, knowledge and use of chiropractic. Imbedded in our survey was a 20-item chiropractic attitude questionnaire (CAQ); scores could range from 0 to 80 with higher scores indicating more positive attitudes toward chiropractic. We constructed a multivariable regression model to explore factors associated with CAQ scores.

Results: Among eligible physicians, 251 of 685 in 2010 (37% response rate) and 162 of 2429 in 2019 (7% response rate) provided a completed survey. Approximately half of respondents (48%) endorsed a positive impression of chiropractic, 27% were uncertain, and 25% held negative views. Most respondents (72%) referred at least some patients for chiropractic care, mainly due to patient request or lack of response to medical care. Most physicians believed that chiropractors provide effective therapy for some musculoskeletal complaints (84%) and disagreed that chiropractic care was beneficial for non-musculoskeletal conditions (77%). The majority agreed that chiropractic care was a useful supplement to conventional care (65%) but most respondents (59%) also indicated that practice diversity among chiropractors presented a barrier to interprofessional collaboration. In our adjusted regression model, attitudes towards chiropractic showed trivial improvement from 2010 to 2019 (0.31 points on the 80-point CAQ; 95%CI 0.001 to 0.62). More negative attitudes were associated with older age (- 1.55 points for each 10-year increment from age 28; 95%CI – 2.67 to – 0.44), belief that adverse events are common with chiropractic care (- 1.41 points; 95% CI – 2.59 to – 0.23) and reported use of the research literature (- 6.04 points; 95% CI – 8.47 to – 3.61) or medical school (- 5.03 points; 95% CI – 7.89 to – 2.18) as sources of knowledge on chiropractic. More positive attitudes were associated with endorsing a relationship with a specific chiropractor (5.24 points; 95% CI 2.85 to 7.64), family and friends (4.06 points; 95% CI 1.53 to 6.60), or personal treatment experience (4.63 points; 95% CI 2.14 to 7.11) as sources of information regarding chiropractic.

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