More than 200,000.
That’s the number of nonfatal occupational back injuries—217,666
to be exact—that resulted in lost workdays in a single year, according to the
most recent annual data compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
This equates to more than the number of work-related head, neck, arm and foot
injuries combined.
As a result, this can have a huge economic impact. Consider
this: The World Health Organization has estimated that low back pain alone
costs the U.S. between $100 billion and $200 billion annually.
Here are some of the jobs that are more prone to back injuries
than others:
• Manual laborers and freight, stock and
materials movers
• Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers
• Nursing assistants
• Production workers
Until recently, surgeons used to have a booming business because
of patient referrals. Now, however, with more people interested in drug-free,
non-invasive alternatives and the reality of the outcomes of surgical care,
chiropractic care has become the line of first defense.
“Very few conditions present situations where it is appropriate
to proceed directly to the operating room,” Natalie Drake of the Texas
Institute of Spine and Neurosurgery recently stated. “In many cases,
less-invasive options will provide the desired relief.”
Cost has also played a factor in the rise of chiropractic care.
In a recent study in the Journal of Manipulative & Physiological
Therapeutics, “paid costs for episodes of care initiated with a D.C. [doctor of
chiropractic] were almost 40 percent less than episodes initiated with an M.D.
[medical doctor].”
Gerard Clum, D.C., of the not-for-profit Foundation for
Chiropractic Progress, agrees.
“We’re noticing that patients who use chiropractic care as a first choice have better outcomes and incur fewer costs.”
