- Joined
- May 13, 2007
- Messages
- 4,352
- Reaction score
- 738
http://www.beckersspine.com/spine/item/23973-is-rand-paul-anti-spine-specialist.html
Senator and likely presidential hopeful Rand Paul made comments minimizing back pain patients in a recent campaign speech, leading some to wonder whether he's "anti-spine."
Mr. Paul reportedly said, "What I tell people is, if you look like me and you hop out of your truck, you shouldn't be getting a disability check. Over half of the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts — join the club. Who doesn't get a little anxious for work everyday and their back hurts? Everyone over 40 has back pain," according to a report in Salon.
Mr. Paul is correct in that spinal disorders are recognized as a major contributor to the $357 billion of U.S. public funds spent annually to support disabled people. But does that mean back pain shouldn't be treated? Or assistance shouldn't be given?
Back pain is a pervasive problem among all populations and spine-related disability outpaces diabetes, lung cancer, tuberculosis, preterm birth and malaria as the leading cause of suffering worldwide, according to a news release from the North American Spine Society.
Here are a few key facts on spinal issues:
• 20-year-olds have a 30 percent risk of becoming disabled before age 65, with spine disorders a major cause.
• 71 percent of disabled people are more likely to eventually reach poverty levels and need public assistance.
• Spine-related disability leads to a 23% decline in annual earnings; an 11 percent reduction after-tax income.
• Productivity loss for spine-related disability among United States employers reaches $28 billion annually.
The North American Spine Society launched the North American Spine Foundation, a non-profit organization established to end spine-related disability. Michael Reed, DPT, OCS, is executive director of the North American Spine Foundation.
The organization will fund research to help clarify back pain problems and identify how much disability has changed over the past 20 to 30 years. This includes identifying the industries and areas where spinal disability is most prevalent and understanding how that changes over time.
"We might find the medical aspect is really good, but other factors are really bad," says Mr. Reed. "When a person is injured at work, their outcome depends on who employers interact with them and their ultimate decision to return to work. We are going after that aggressively."
The research aims to help patients receive better care, but also achieve fair reimbursements.
"We have for years sat and complained about dropping reimbursements, less autonomy and more work to receive approvals for treatments," says Mr. Reed. "Now we are doing something about it and we hope to raise awareness for spinal disability issues. It's one of the biggest disease-related issues in our country."
Senator and likely presidential hopeful Rand Paul made comments minimizing back pain patients in a recent campaign speech, leading some to wonder whether he's "anti-spine."
Mr. Paul reportedly said, "What I tell people is, if you look like me and you hop out of your truck, you shouldn't be getting a disability check. Over half of the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts — join the club. Who doesn't get a little anxious for work everyday and their back hurts? Everyone over 40 has back pain," according to a report in Salon.
Mr. Paul is correct in that spinal disorders are recognized as a major contributor to the $357 billion of U.S. public funds spent annually to support disabled people. But does that mean back pain shouldn't be treated? Or assistance shouldn't be given?
Back pain is a pervasive problem among all populations and spine-related disability outpaces diabetes, lung cancer, tuberculosis, preterm birth and malaria as the leading cause of suffering worldwide, according to a news release from the North American Spine Society.
Here are a few key facts on spinal issues:
• 20-year-olds have a 30 percent risk of becoming disabled before age 65, with spine disorders a major cause.
• 71 percent of disabled people are more likely to eventually reach poverty levels and need public assistance.
• Spine-related disability leads to a 23% decline in annual earnings; an 11 percent reduction after-tax income.
• Productivity loss for spine-related disability among United States employers reaches $28 billion annually.
The North American Spine Society launched the North American Spine Foundation, a non-profit organization established to end spine-related disability. Michael Reed, DPT, OCS, is executive director of the North American Spine Foundation.
The organization will fund research to help clarify back pain problems and identify how much disability has changed over the past 20 to 30 years. This includes identifying the industries and areas where spinal disability is most prevalent and understanding how that changes over time.
"We might find the medical aspect is really good, but other factors are really bad," says Mr. Reed. "When a person is injured at work, their outcome depends on who employers interact with them and their ultimate decision to return to work. We are going after that aggressively."
The research aims to help patients receive better care, but also achieve fair reimbursements.
"We have for years sat and complained about dropping reimbursements, less autonomy and more work to receive approvals for treatments," says Mr. Reed. "Now we are doing something about it and we hope to raise awareness for spinal disability issues. It's one of the biggest disease-related issues in our country."
