Chiropractic Care More Cost Effective Than Traditional Medical Care

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Chiropractic Care More Cost Effective Than Traditional Medical Care
With a shaky economy and the unknown future of healthcare in the US, consumers need better options in relieving pain and promoting health. A visit to a medical office for neck or low back pain can quickly progress to medication dependence and thousands of dollars in medical expenses. Chiropractic care is growing in popularity due to its approach to wellness and prevention healthcare, not reaction medicine. As more research reveals the cost-effectiveness of chiropractic care for treating neuromusculoskeletal complaints such as neck and low back pain, more insurances are including it as a covered benefit, and more medical doctors are referring their patients to chiropractic practitioners for relief.

Medical care thanks to Obamacare is expensive

An average visit to a medical office ranges from $60 to $300+ depending on the doctor and nature of the check out. Even with insurance coverage, a deductible or large co-pay can quickly add up to a deep hole in your wallet. You leave the office only to go to a pharmacy to purchase prescription medications that may be damaging and/or addictive. By the end of it all, you owe about $1000 to the medical office because you hurt your back gardening last weekend. The pain medication eases the pain, but does not address the underlying injury by masking it. Once the medication is gone, the pain comes back, and long story short you become addicted to medication. This may sound all too familiar to you or someone you know. For many people this is their current situation, the insurance companies continue to pay pharmaceutical companies to keep producing chemicals to keep up the addiction rates, a vicious cycle.

The opposite view of healthcare

Same situation, but instead of seeing your family doctor for the pain, you decide to see a chiropractic practitioner. A typical check out at a chiropractic office costs between $30 and $60. Many chiropractic practitioners offer a free or discounted examination and x-rays, something you will never see at a medical office. The chiropractic practitioner's goal is to get you out of pain AND fix the underlying issue so the pain doesn't return. Since chiropractic practitioners do not use damaging medications, the pain relief may not be instantaneous, and can be discouraging to those looking for a "quick-fix." Initial treatment periods may last a few weeks but the overall cost of care still remains much less than going to see a medical doctor.

Chiropractic can save you money

Recent research has been examining the cost-effectiveness of chiropractic care among other natural alternatives (physiotherapy, acupuncture, massage) versus conventional medicine. A 2012 systemic review found spinal manipulation therapy to be more cost-effective for neck and low back pain when compared with general practitioner care, physiotherapy or exercise. A study in 2007 compared care costs of a patient under the direction of a chiropractic practitioner as their primary care physician (PCP) versus a medical doctor. After 70,000 member-months spanning a 7-year period, hospital admission costs were decreased by 60.2 percent, cost of days spent in the hospital were decreased by 59.0 percent, and outpatient surgeries and procedures were down by 62.0 percent. If these numbers were not astonishing enough, the costs associated with pharmaceuticals decreased by 85 percent when compared to conventional medically driven care. All of these comparisons were done in the same time frame, geography, and health maintenance organization product.


As more research reveals the cost-effectiveness of chiropractic care for treating neuromusculoskeletal complaints such as neck and low back pain, more insurances are including it as a covered benefit, and more medical doctors are referring their patients to chiropractic practitioners for relief.

Initial treatment periods may last a few weeks but the overall cost of care still remains much less than going to see a medical doctor.

A 2012 systemic review found spinal manipulation therapy to be more cost-effective for neck and low back pain when compared with general practitioner care, physiotherapy or exercise. A study in 2007 compared care costs of a patient under the direction of a chiropractic practitioner as their primary care physician (PCP) versus a medical doctor. If these numbers were not astonishing enough, the costs associated with pharmaceuticals decreased by 85 percent when compared to conventional medically driven care.