Study Shows Opioid Prescriptions Greatly Reduced in Seniors Receiving Chiropractic

A study published on January 31, 2022, in the journal Chiropractic & Manual Therapies shows that older adults are less likely to fill prescriptions for opioids if they are under chiropractic care. The title of the study is "Association between chiropractic care and use of prescription opioids among older Medicare beneficiaries with spinal pain: a retrospective observational study."

The study begins by pointing out that there have been several large studies that showed that patients who sought out chiropractic care for spine-related pain were less than half as likely to receive a prescription for or utilize opioids as a method of treatment. Considering the opioid epidemic situation our society is currently facing, any alternatives to opioids is preferable.

This study looks specifically at older adults who are on Medicare and suffer from spinal pain. Prior studies looked at the opioid usage in the general population and not specifically among seniors who are more likely to be on multiple medications in addition to any opioid use. The interactions of multiple medications with opioids, coupled with other health issues that seniors typically suffer from, add special concern to finding out if chiropractic care could reduce the usage of opioids in seniors.

Researchers reviewed the Medicare claims over several years of 55,949 Medicare beneficiaries who were suffering with spinal pain. Of this total patient number, 9,356 received chiropractic care and 46,593 did not. Those who were received chiropractic were also receiving medical care at that time. The researchers tabulated the number of people in each group who filled a prescription for opioid medications within one year of the initial diagnosis for spinal pain.

The results of the study showed that those who got chiropractic care were 56% less likely to fill an opioid prescription within 365 days of first chiropractic visit. Those who sought chiropractic earlier in their condition were 62% less likely to fill an opioid prescription compared to those who did not receive chiropractic.

In their discussion, the researchers noted that their results were similar to other studies that did not specifically look at seniors. "The results of this study support our hypothesis that among older Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with spinal pain, recipients of chiropractic care have a lower risk of filling a prescription for an opioid analgesic as compared to non-recipients."

The results of this study add further strength to the argument that chiropractic should be included on senior care especially when related to spinal pain. In the conclusion to the study, the authors summed up the results by saying, "Older Medicare enrollees with spinal pain who saw both a chiropractor and a primary care physician had less than half the risk of filling an opioid prescription, as compared to those who received primary medical care alone. The association was most pronounced among those who saw a chiropractor within the first 30 days of care."