Save money, time and sanity by consulting Physical Therapy to manage lower back pain

When it comes to treatment for low back pain, Medicare is getting a bargain with physical therapy according to authors of a new study. This research says physical therapy is cheaper than injections or surgery in the short-term and it is likely to save on treatment costs for at least a year after the initial diagnosis. That’s an average savings of 18 percent more than treatments that begin with injections and 50 percent more than treatments that begin with surgery!

The study focused on Medicare A and B claims data from 472,000 beneficiaries who received a diagnosis of low back pain and began treatment between February and October of 2014. They tracked three treatment paths – physical therapy, injections and surgery. They compared the total costs of initial treatment, as well as the total cost for 12 months after the diagnosis. They also analyzed the cost differences associated with how soon physical therapy was initiated after diagnosis, the physical therapist interventions used to assist with treatments and relationships between the use of physical therapy and the referring health care provider.

The results speak for themselves:

1. Physical Therapy is much more cost effective. Therapy was 19 percent lower than the average cost of treatment when injections were used first and 75 percent lower than the average cost of treatment when started with surgery.
2. Savings over time. Researchers found that during the 12 month period following initial diagnosis, those who were treated with physical therapy tended to pay less in additional costs than those who started with injections or surgery. That’s 18 percent lower than the injection group and 54 percent cheaper than the surgery group.
3. Begin with Physical Therapy. Those who started physical therapy within the first 15 days of initial pain onset (diagnosis) incurred lower average treatment costs than those who started later. Those savings continued through the 12 month study period.
4. It depends on who you see! Primary care physicians account for the most low back pain diagnoses. Many times primary care doctors will prescribe pain medications, encourage injections or more quickly speak about surgery as opposed to orthopedic physicians. Ortho docs are the most likely to refer their patients to physical therapy for pain management. Orthopedic doctors referred the largest portion of their patients to physical therapy (about 21 percent), where primary care doctors only referred about 13 percent. The therapists at Franklin Rehabilitation have relationships with every physician specialty group in the Southeast Wisconsin area. We can give you advice and help get you in to see the right specialist quickly.

Read more about the cost of chronic pain here: https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/features/price-tag-chronic-pain#1

What are you willing to do to get relief? It doesn’t have to be as difficult as you think. Contact Franklin Rehabilitation for a free pain screening. We’re confident we can help, but if we determine that your treatment plan should include additional services, we will refer you to one of the best specialists in the area.

Remember, we always offer a free pain screening and our therapists can look at your movement patterns and see what we can do to help eliminate your pain. Please contact us today at (414) 425-9700 for your free screening.