You have this pain—neck, back, knee, or shoulder—and you’re wondering what the cost of treatment is and what the best treatment is. Maybe you’ve tried a few things, but nothing seems to keep the pain away. Or maybe you found something that works, but the cost is adding up. You might even be considering surgery, thinking it’s the quick and easy fix. This blog will help clarify these concerns and offer some insight.
The Cost of Being Sick
Musculoskeletal injuries (those affecting bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and nerves) are among the top reasons people visit doctors. Even if you don’t know exactly what’s causing your pain, you might be dealing with:
- Neck pain
- Lower back pain
- Shoulder blade pain
- Headaches
- Stenosis
- Neuropathy
- Sciatica
- Hip pain
- Knee pain
- Piriformis syndrome
The biggest mistake? Waiting too long to seek care. By then, you’ve likely missed work, stopped doing activities you enjoy, and are stuck in daily pain. The financial cost is obvious—doctor visits, MRIs, medications—but the emotional toll is often overlooked.
Being in pain can drain your motivation and hurt your mental health. Depression often follows, and unfortunately, it’s more common to be prescribed medication for depression than to treat the root cause. This is the real cost of being sick.
Just for reference, here are some imaging costs in California (source: CalRADS):
- X-ray: $250
- CT scan: $1,523
- MRI: $3,200
- Ultrasound: $400
And that’s before you factor in surgery, recovery, physical therapy, and follow-up visits. Often, people still end up in pain afterward. Avoiding sickness is far cheaper—and less stressful—than dealing with the consequences.
With that being said, check out my blog on How to Maintain Overall Health and Wellness. When you work on being the healthier version of yourself, in posture, mobility, nutrition, and emotional balance your recovery from injury is much different than the alternative. Bear in mind, we all go through life and at times injure ourselves. Just because you learn the do’s and don’ts of health does not mean you will be invincible.
Why Some Treatments Fail?
If you have chronic pain and the first suggestion you get is surgery, that’s a red flag. (Unless we’re talking about broken bones or major tears.) For repetitive use injuries or pain with no clear cause, always start with a conservative approach.
Yes, surgeons can work miracles. But even successful surgeries come with risks: anesthesia, infection, and the formation of scar tissue. Scar tissue often becomes a problem on its own, leading to more pain.
The issue with many treatments—including physical therapy, chiropractic care, and surgery—is that they focus on the symptom, not the cause. Even if the pain goes away temporarily, if the root cause remains (like poor posture or bad ergonomics), the pain returns.
Common overlooked lifestyle causes include:
- Holding your phone awkwardly
- Poor desk posture
- Bad driving habits
- Improper workout form
- Long hours of typing or sitting
- Lack of head or neck support while sleeping
According to the American Chiropractic Association, more than 125 million Americans suffer from musculoskeletal pain. Until the lifestyle issues are fixed, no treatment will work long-term.
The Missing Link in Musculoskeletal Treatments
After nearly a decade in practice, I realized some patients’ pain kept coming back. As chiropractors, we focus on the spine and nervous system. But most traditional treatments ignore the brain.
The nervous system, including the brain, is the first system to develop in a fetus and remains central throughout life. When something goes wrong, shouldn’t we look there first? I’m not talking about brain disease. I’m talking about how the brain adapts to our choices and lifestyle.
This led me to Postural Neurology. With Brain-Based Neurology and Posture Exams, we can assess which brain regions responsible for posture and balance are underactive. There’s a brain map for movement and sensation called the Homunculus. When that map is off, posture and movement suffer.
We can re-activate those under-functioning brain areas through specific exercises. Developmental Kinesiology methods like Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) use movement patterns from early childhood. These are the natural ways our bodies are designed to move.
Watch this video to learn more:
How Much Does it Cost to Get Healthy?
Whether or not you have insurance shouldn’t decide your health. Let’s be honest—”health” insurance is more like “sick” insurance. It rarely covers your supplements, gym memberships, or healthy food.
Even doctors like me have to give a diagnosis or insurance won’t pay. True health doesn’t fit into their system.
So ask yourself: is your health a priority? If it is, then plan your life accordingly. Some of the best definitions of health I’ve heard come from patients who lost it and now know what they’re missing.
Yes, staying healthy costs something now. But staying sick costs far more later—in money, time, and quality of life.
Be careful what you wish for. You are the designer and the director of your life. Choose wisely. And contact us if your past treatments have failed and you’re ready to get started with what we know works!
Dr. Shakib
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