I think I can hear the traditional doctors screaming already. The surgeons, who love to slice and dice regardless of the problem, will be protesting the change despite new studies showing how little surgery actually helps with back pain. Here in France the national health care and insurance companies have been slow to accept alternative treatments, probably due to the strength of the pharmaceutical industry, but they are coming around. Personally I love acupuncture and have had great success with it for stress related treatments so I think adding it to a system like the NHS is great news.
Tens of millions of pounds are being wasted by the NHS on useless treatments for back pain, money that should be diverted to alternative therapies such as acupuncture and spinal manipulation, a health service watchdog says today.Are such treatments covered in your insurance plan? Is this normal or a big deal? As I said above, it's very much in transition here and younger doctors are no longer afraid of this. It probably helps that a few doctors paved the way and now everyone is seeing the cost savings side of these treatments.
From among 200 treatments and devices claimed to help a bad back, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) has passed judgement on what works and what doesn't. X-rays, ultrasound and steroid injections are out and osteopathy, chiropractic and "needling" are in, it says.
The new guidelines mark a watershed in the treatment of the condition and for Nice itself. It is the first time that the institute has issued a positive recommendation that the NHS provide, and pay for, alternative therapies.
