Hurt on the job? You're not alone. Millions of people are suffering from all types of job injuries including falls, physical strain from working in a bad position, improper lifting or other trauma. Among the most common on-the-job injuries is spinal injury.
That is one of the reasons why 85% of the population will experience disabling low back pain at least once during their lives! That is almost all of us. The problem is so bad that at any one time, according to one researcher, 6.8% of the U.S. adult population is suffering from an episode of back pain lasting more than two weeks, (2) with the estimated cost of lower back problems in the U.S. being over $50 billion a year. (3)
WORKMENS COMP INJURIES
Convenient Lake Norman Location
At Exit 33 In Mooresville Gateway
122 Gateway Blvd., Suite 100
Mooresville, NC 28117
(704)799-1416
Workers' Compensation Plans
Workers compensation plans reveal that more than twice as many claims are filed for back "sprains and strains" than any other category of injury. Although 30% of all claims are for back problems, the chronic (long-term) nature of these conditions gives rise to 6O% of all compensation paid. (4)
Medical Approach
The medical approach to back pain varies depending on the severity of the condition. Usually muscle relaxers, painkillers and steroids are prescribed.
Surgery
Surgery is the most invasive choice and should only be resorted to if every other treatment option has been tried and has failed. Many people turn to surgery when the drugs fail to resolve the problems. The problem is that for most people, drug therapy is the only thing they've tried. They didn't try chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, physical therapy etc... Additionally, according to some studies, more than half of all spinal surgery for lower back problems fail!
The Chiropractic Approach
Chiropractic is a safe, natural and effective treatment option for work related injuries. The chiropractic approach includes spinal and extremity
adjustments, soft tissue massage, electro-therapy modalities (such as electrical muscle stimulation, ultrasound, microcurrent, TENS, etc..), stretching, strengthening exercises and home care treatments.
What Do Workers' Compensation Studies Reveal?
Florida Study (5) Claims from 10,000 cases (1985-86) showed: under standard medical care the patient was disabled for 59 days; under chiropractic: 39 days. Due to the shortened disability time, the average cost of chiropractic care was less than half that of medical care for the same conditions.
Utah Study (6) A study of 3,062 back injury claims revealed chiropractic cost a fraction of what medical care would have cost. People under medical care returned to work after 21 days; those under chiropractic returned to work after 3 days.
Oregon Study (7) An Oregon study revealed that under medical care 41% could return to work after one week but under chiropractic care 82% were able to return to work after one week.
California Studies (8) C. Richard Wolf, M.D. compared 500 people sent to medical doctors and 500 sent to chiropractors. The chiropractic patients returned to the job after 15.6 days while those under medical care remained disabled 32 days.
The Facts Speak For Themselves
"Scientific studies show that doctors of chiropractic relieve chronic and severe pain, both immediate and long term, in one half the time it takes medical physicians not trained in chiropractic procedures; empirical studies can and have been conducted. There are now in excess of 60 scientific studies which demonstrate the value of manipulation: a most effective and cost-effective form of care for dysfunctional problems in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spines." (9)
Conclusion
Studies have shown chiropractic to be more beneficial and cost effective than standard American medicine for lower back complaints. Therefore, a doctor of chiropractic should always be consulted before resorting to medical treatments. Unlike pain killers, muscle relaxers, physical therapy and surgery, chiropractic corrects vertebral subluxations. No matter what disease or condition you have, you can benefit from a healthy spine. Spinal health can be as important for your overall health as proper nutrition. Are you and your family carrying the vertebral subluxation complex in your spine? Only a chiropractic spinal checkup can tell.
REFERENCES:
Waddell, G. Simple low-back pain: Rest or active exercise. Annals Rheum Dis., 1993, 52, pp. 317-319.
Deyo, R. A. Description epidemiology of lower-back pain and its related medical care in the Untied States. Spine, 1987, 13(3), pp. 264-268.
Low Back Pain, The $50 Billion Problem. Conference sponsored by the Institute for Low Back Care. Minneapolis, MN: Abbott Northwestern Hospital, September
30, 1982.
Burton, C. V. & Cassidy, J. D. Economics epidemiology and risk factors. In W. H. Kirkaldy-Willis & C. V. Burton (Ed.), Managing low-back pain (3rd ed.). NY: Churchill Livingston, 1992. Wolk, S. Chiropractic vs. medical care: A cost analysis of disability and treatment for back-related workers' compensation cases. Arlington, VA: Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research, September 1988.
Jarvis, K., Phillips, R. & Morris, E. Workers' Compensation Fund of Utah, 1991.
A study of time loss back claims. Portland, OR: Workmen's Compensation Board, State of Oregon, March 1971.
Wolf, C. R. Industrial back injury. Arlington, VA: International Chiropractors Association, 1110 North Glebe Road, Suite 1000, Arlington, VA 22201, (703) 528-5000, December 1972.
Kirkaldy-Willis, W. H. American Back Society Newsletter, Spring 1989,5(2).
