Meningitis Caused by Injection Causes a Look Into a Paradigm Shift

There is a lot of press involving the meningitis linked to a steroid injection for pain. This is a very serious problem for these individuals, and there needs to be a question of how they got to this point. Was there a suggestion of conservative chiropractic care? If not then does there need to be a better source of communication between medical doctors and chiropractors? I whole heartedly think there should be, and that is because my main motivation is to help the Northfield community the best that I can.

First, it is important to know that healthcare prices are not so quietly taking over our budget, and to find a way to spend it wisely is very important. A recent study offered that people who had chosen to go to a chiropractor as opposed to a PT or a medical doctor. This study (referenced here) stated that a person who goes to a chiropractor as opposed to a PT had a reduction in disability of 24%. This study also stated that when chiropractic care was compared to going to an MD that reduction of disability was 250%. This is very good, but where do the dollar sign savings point? When comparing the chiropractic care to PT there was a 19% reduction of cost when the patient chose chiropractic. There was also a 43% cost savings when a person chose a chiropractor compared with an MD.

As a chiropractor I am not opposed to using anyone of these interventions, but the stats dictate that if you want the best results with the lowest cost, then the first place a person should go is to the chiropractor. That doesn’t mean that there is no need for PT. I believe that the person should then go to a PT to strengthen any weaknesses that a patient may have had to contribute to the problem. This will give the patient the best outcomes for success, and hopefully keep them pain-free longer.

What is currently going on for patients at this point? The problem exists in the paradigm of what the patient encounters when they are suffering from back or other pains. They are told to go to their MD who will then suggest some medications or PT. If that doesn’t work they feel annoyed and go to “alternative therapy.” According to this research that is exactly the opposite method of logical thinking. One should take the most conservative (chiropractic care) and move to less conservative methods if these methods are not helpful. However, that is not in our paradigm.

With the recent problem with meningitis due to a methylprednisolone injection it is even more important that we try every conservative method for the patient before we have them take the higher risk of drugs or surgery. That doesn’t happen, because the two communities don’t play very well together. This blog is not going to discuss the politics involved with the lack of playing together. Instead, it is a plea to play nice in order to give the best results for the patient. That is the reason, we hope, that all of these communities got into this type of care in the first place. Northfield is different in the there is a growing working relationship, but it does still need some dramatic improvement.

Call to action:

If you know someone who is suffering from back, neck, or other pains, then have them make the most logical decision and seek chiropractic care (507-645-8000 for Cannon Pointe Chiropractic). This is very important for the success without complication. There is no reason to fear the MD as the injection complication is not a common problem, but it is more of a paradigm shift to help with disability and a more cost-effective method of care. I am more than eager to work with all of the great people in the Northfield healthcare community if that means the best prognosis for my patients, and you should ask all of your other healthcare practitioners the same question. For more information about this and many other healthcare concerns please check out our blog.