You know, I should have been taking it easy. Instead, in the flush of
youth I was confident that aches and pains would wait until old age.
I never realized that youthful rigor can actually promote old age!
If there's one thing about growing older, it's that everything they
taught you in youth was a lie. Doctors? Ha! So they know what
connects the hip bone to the whatever-bone...but what's that got to do
with my half-broken back?? It's not even about the money: they simply
don't know!!
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/back-spending-surge-shows-no-benefit/
EXCERPTS
United States spending on spine treatments totaled nearly $86 billion
in 2005, a rise of 65 percent from 1997, after adjusting for
inflation. Even so, the proportion of people with impaired function
due to spine problems actually increased during the period, even after
controlling for an aging population.
....
"You'd think if you're putting a lot of money into a problem, you'd
see some improvements in health status,'' said lead author Brook I.
Martin, research scientist at the University of Washington's
department of orthopedics and sports medicine. "We're putting a lot of
money into this problem, and it's a big investment in health care
expenditures, but we're not seeing health status commensurate with
those investments.''
....
The report is the latest to suggest the nation is losing its battle
against back pain, and that many popular treatments may be ineffective
or overused.
....
It's not clear why more people appear to be suffering from back and
neck pain. It could be that rising obesity rates are taking an added
toll on the spine, researchers suggested. Or it could be that
excessive treatment of back problems is leading to more problems.
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