Sticking Your Neck Out for Chiropractic

If this is your first visit to the chiropractor, here's just one example of what you've been missing: Manual therapy preserves the mobility - and money - of patients, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. An Amsterdam research team studied 183 patients with neck pain of at least two weeks' duration. Of the patients (18-70 years of age), 60 received manual therapy, 59 received physiotherapy, and 64 received treatment from a general practitioner (GP).

A higher percentage of patients in the manual therapy group reported "complete recovery" after seven weeks than either of the other two groups:

• Sixty-eight percent of the patients receiving manual therapy recovered.
• Fifty-one percent of physiotherapy patients recovered.
• Thirty-six percent receiving care from the GP recovered.

But that's not all: After six months, total treatment costs for patients assigned to the manual therapy group were only approximately one-third the total treatment costs of physiotherapy or general practitioner care:

• Manual therapy: $402
• Physiotherapy: $1,167
• General practitioner care: $1,241

Left untreated, neck problems can lead to significant, long-term disability. But take some relief in knowing that by correcting this problem using chiropractic, you're receiving the best care possible - and saving money at the same time!

Reference:

Korthals-de Bos IBC, Hoving JL, van Tulder MW, et al. Cost effectiveness of physiotherapy, manual therapy, and general practitioner care for neck pain: economic evaluation alongside a randomised controlled trial. British Medical Journal, April 26, 2003: Volume 326, pp. 911.

For more information on neck pain, visit www.chiroweb.com/find/tellmeabout/neckpain.html.