Make America Healthy Again: The Vital Role of Chiropractic Providing Cost-Effective Healthcare
Benjamin Franklin famously said that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” His original use of the phrase was geared towards the importance of fire safety but truisms such as this have broader meaning and applications. Chiropractic care is a preventive healthcare measure that can lead to long-term savings by reducing the need for costly interventions, such as surgeries and long-term medication use.
In 2007, the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapy published a 7-year study that showed that patients whose primary doctor was a Chiropractor experienced 60% fewer hospital admissions, 59% fewer days in the hospital, 62% fewer outpatient surgeries and 85% less in pharmaceutical cost.
In 2024, the Chiropractic & Manual Therapies Journal published a systematic study highlighting the differences in costs between Chiropractic care and medical management of spine-related musculoskeletal pain. Patients who saw a Chiropractor first “incurred substantially decreased downstream healthcare services and associated costs, resulting in lower overall healthcare costs compared with medical management.” To put this into perspective, the cost of spine-related pain in the United States is estimated at $134.5 billion.
In a country where only about 10% of the population sees a Chiropractor, what would healthcare look like in America if more people saw a Chiropractor first? Or at least in conjunction with their medical doctor?
By supporting health and wellness early on, Chiropractic care lessens the financial burden on individuals and the healthcare system as a whole. Integrating chiropractic care into public health initiatives could alleviate economic strain on the healthcare system, making it a wise investment for a healthier America.
- Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP
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Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP is a pediatric, family wellness and upper cervical specific Chiropractor. He is an active member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). Dr. Jarek has postgraduate certification in Pediatric Chiropractic through the ICPA. Dr. Jarek also has postgraduate certification in the HIO Specific Brain Stem technique through The TIC Institute. Dr. Jarek is happily married to his wife Regina. They live in Youngstown, Ohio with their daughter Ruby
