← Back to portfolio

The Price of Pain: Mounting Costs in Spine Health Care

Published on

The Price of Pain: Mounting Costs in Spine Health Care

-Dave McNamara

Pain in the Cubicle

You’ve had a productive morning at the office. The 9 am meeting went well, you got a good jump on your report, and things are going smoothly. Then, all of a sudden, you feel shooting pains in your spine and back. Now you can’t concentrate on your work at all. Reeling, you consider taking the rest of the day off, but that’d set you behind. As the discomfort persists, you start thinking about what you can do. You very well may need to find a health care professional that specializes in the spine. But is the time you’d miss from work, and the risk of being fired, worth it?

As we discussed in an earlier post, if you’re suffering from back, spine, or neck pain—especially at work—you’re far from alone. According to a recent article in The Guardian, it’s well known that “low back and neck pain is a huge worldwide problem.” In the UK, such pain causes “a third of all long-term sickness absence from work.” In the U.S., 31 million Americans are experiencing spine, neck, and back pain. With these numbers, it’s hard not to classify it as an epidemic. But with the cost of health care, and treating your spine, it’s important to look at the economic impact.

Care at a Cost

Treatments come in a variety of forms, and the amount of money spent on health care is astonishing. In the U.S. approximately $88 billion is spent a year treating spine, neck, and back pain. Musculoskeletal conditions are, in fact, the country’s third-largest medical expense, behind only diabetes and cancer. What’s more, the number of spine health care treatment needs have been rapidly rising over the past decades.

These numbers were tabulated by Dr. Joseph L. Dieleman. Dr. Dielman, along with a large team of researchers, conducted an assessment of U.S. health care spending from 1996 to 2013, then published the findings last December in the Journal of the American Medical Association. As he interprets the data, the spike in spin health care costs is most likely related to a few factors. More people are visiting outpatient clinics for spine pain, the number of treatments available has increased, and the country is giving health care to a rising population of aging Americans.

Additional Strain

But beyond the cost of treatment, there are other ways spine, neck, and back pain impact the economy: the lost productivity when workers need to take time off because of spine pain. That, coupled with the aggregated amount of wages lost due to missing work, as well as lost tax revenue, adds up to a significant increase in a company’s liability.

So what does the wider picture look like when it comes to spine, back, and neck pain? Dr. Laxmaiah Manchikanti and her team of researchers conducted a study to assess this. They were looking to create a baseline of understanding surrounding how spine problems affect the wider economy, and which individuals it affects. Here are some highlights of their findings:

  • Higher Overall Medical Costs: Those with spine, back, or neck problems spent approximately 60% more on health care per year than those without.
  • Lost Productive Time (LPT): The lost time from work as a result of spine issues—be it in the form of actual days off or attempts to work through pain—costs employers approximately $19.8 million a year.
  • Related Issues: Spine, back, and neck pain also lead to other health and psychological problems, which further increases economic impact. Some conditions associated are lack of fitness, obesity, heart disease, depression, anxiety, and potential abuse of opioids.

Feeling the Pinch

While the rate of spine health care issues is indeed higher for people that work on their feet or in manual jobs, spinal pain has certainly pervaded the office. In fact, it’s becoming more clear that sitting for long hours—as most do at work—puts a serious strain on the spine and musculoskeletal system. Also, conditions like obesity—something that is often associated with more sedentary lifestyles—can further aggravate such problems.

As with most health care decisions, if you're in pain, you should be proactive. The earlier you’re able to get medical advice, the better the outcome. At the same time, one should take steps to help minimize spine pain, thus decrease doctor’s visits: stretching, physical activity, and frequent breaks from sitting at work, help.

The overall impact of spine pain and subsequent spine healthcare is massive. But, if you’re responsive and careful, the cost of your health care - and your pocketbook - will decrease.

If neck or back pain is a problem for you, the team at North American Spine can help. Specializing in the latest in minimally invasive techniques, they’ve established a firm track record of success in treatment. Learn more by calling (877) 474-2225 anytime.

References

  1. Boseley, Sarah. ‘Epidemic of Untreatable Back and Neck Pain Costs Billions, Study Finds’. The Guardian (The Guardian), February 10, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/so... Chiropractic Association. ‘Back Pain Facts and Statistics’. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://www.acatoday.org/Patients/Health-Wellness-Information/Back-Pain-Facts-and-Statistics.
  2. Dieleman, Joseph L, Ranju Baral, Maxwell Birger, Anthony L Bui, David Geffen, Anne Bulchis, Abigail Chapin, et al. ‘Spending on US Health Care, 1996-2013’. December 27, 2016. Accessed February 13, 2017. http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2594716.
  3. Manchikanti, Laxmaiah, Vijay Singh, Sukdeb Datta, Steven P Cohen, and Joshua A Hirsch. ‘Comprehensive Review of Epidemiology, Scope, and Impact of Spinal Pain Evidence-Based Medicine’. Pain Physician 12 (2009): 35–70. Accessed February 14, 2017. http://www.painphysicianjournal.com/2009/july/2009;12;E35-E70.pdf.