A new pair of Saskatchewan clinics where people with back pain can get assessed is promising to bring shorter wait times for those who ultimately need surgery, and more timely treatment for those who don't.

The clinics, which opened Thursday in Saskatoon and Regina, are staffed by physical therapists who specialize in determining if a patient needs surgery or can get by with physiotherapy, chiropractic treatments or massage.

'The solution is not just to throw more money at the same system'—Dr. Daryl Fourney

Daryl Fourney, a Saskatoon neurosurgeon, said too often family doctors send patients with persistent lower back pain straight for an MRI scan. Since that test gives a lot of false positives, many of those patients are sent to surgeons for assessments — even though they don't end up needing surgery. Fourney estimated only about 10-20% of patients he sees actually need surgery.

"So the system the way it is, is just not working very well," Fourney said. "And the solution is not just to throw more money at the same system. The solution is to come up with a better system."

An online tutorial the province launched in March encourages family doctors to send patients to the new spine clinics if they have lower back pain that hasn't responded well to physiotherapy or massage, instead of sending them for an MRI or to a surgeon.

Neurosurgeon Dr. Daryl Fourney says a small percentage of the back-pain patients he sees actually need surgery. CBC

The hope is that surgeons will have more time for patients who actually need operations — and they will be able to see them sooner. Conversely, patients who don't need surgery won't have to wait needlessly for a specialist to see them.

At Saskatoon's City Hospital, patients such as Gordon Taylor, 70, are already getting more rapid assessments, thanks to the new diagnostic regime.

A calcium build-up on Taylor's spine has left him unable to stand up straight since April. But instead of waiting the typical eight months before he could even see a surgeon, he'll be in the operating room by July.

"I have the surgeon and he's working on a date," Taylor said. "And it's bound to give me better mobility than what I have right now."

The province estimates that each year, 10,000 Saskatchewan residents see their family doctor for lower back pain. Half those cases are sent to a specialist — and likely for an MRI as well — while only 1,000 actually require surgery.

Lower back pain and injuries account for more than a third of all MRIs performed in the province annually, the government says.