Health systems and individuals could cut costs by steering treatment of back pain to physical therapists or chiropractors as patients’ first intervention, according to new findings.
“What we found was, in a cohort of almost 30,000 individuals with acute back pain, that the first provider influenced the initial treatment received, the initial cost of care, and spending on total medical care and low back pain for the next year,” said study author, Christopher Bise, PT, DPT, PhD,