Medical bills for those with spinal problems are backbreaking, to say the least.

But the cost of neck and back pain is rising — and treatments may not be working, reported researchers at the UW and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).

The study, published in the Feb. 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at 3,139 patients with self-reported spinal problems in 1997 and 3,187 patients in 2005. The researchers found that back and neck problems, which account for a great deal of health care expenditures, are becoming increasingly more expensive to treat. Yet there is no evidence of improvement in patients who seek care for spinal pain.

According to the study, Americans spent $85.9 billion on surgery, MRI scans, X-rays, doctor’s visits and medications in hopes of relieving back and neck pain in 2005. In 1997, they spent $26.3 billion; a

nnual medical costs increased $1,374 per person for these patients during those years.

Despite the increasing expenditure for back pain, the number of people suffering has risen 3 percent from 1997 to 2005.

“We’re over-treating a lot of people, and we’re providing a lot of services that may not be very beneficial,” said Dr. Rick Deyo, a co-author of the report and a professor of evidence-based family medicine at OHSU, in a Newsweek article.

Although surgical techniques and physical therapies have become more advanced over the years, whether

treatment is effective remains dubious.

“There’s no evidence that people are getting more pain relief,” Deyo said.

Deyo suggests patients try over-the-counter remedies such as heating pads and ibuprofen instead of shelling the money out for high-tech imaging tests and brand-name prescriptions, which can cost nearly $60 per prescription.

He doesn’t believe in ruling out surgery and other prescribed treatments altogether, though.

“It’s a matter of being more judicious about what we do, not stopping what we do,” Deyo said. “Both doctors and patients hate the idea of just wait and see, or try something that doesn’t seem very dramatic. But it’s often the best bet.”

[Reach columnist Meghan Peters at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]