Hurting your back at work is a very costly problem, both for patients and for our country. Spinal surgery after an injury at work is a large part of this cost. Back surgery can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $150,000. Evidence that spinal surgery improves pain and function is not particularly good. Despite this, spinal surgery rates continue to rise.

A study conducted in 2013 looked at nearly 2000 employees who hurt their backs badly at work. In looking at their workers’ compensation records, they found that those who saw a surgeon first after their injury were much more likely to have surgery than if they saw a primary care physician first. Workers whose first visit was to a chiropractor had even lower rates of spine surgery.

Only 1.5% of those who saw a chiropractor first for their injury received surgery.

Over 40% of those who saw a surgeon first received surgery in the three years following their injury. Reducing unnecessary spine surgery is safer, lowers costs, and improves patient outcomes.

This study also found that those workers who first saw a chiropractor for their injury had lower rates of chronic work disability. Chiropractic care helped! It worked better than many other treatments for back injury.

If you hurt your spine at work, see a chiropractor first!