Good Morning Readers,

Pain Management is a huge topic in Physical Therapy, how it helps you and will it help you?  Here is a recent article from Time Magazine.

 

TIME Article: US Must Rethink Pain Treatment, Become ‘Insistent’ on Physical Therapy

A recent opinion piece in TIME magazine says that when it comes to pain treatment, unless a “fundamental mindset” is changed—a change that includes being “insistent” on the use of physical therapy in pain management—no real progress will be made in the fight to end the opioid abuse epidemic in the United States.

In “We’re All Responsible For Our Opioid Reliance—Even Patients,” Andre Machado, chairman of the Neurological Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, describes how opioids are little more than a “quick fix” for pain that miss what should be the true goal of pain treatment, which he describes as “recovery of function, not complete resolution of pain.”

“This crisis is a failure of our health care ecosystem and our quick-fix culture,” Machado writes. “We can all share the blame: physicians who feel anxious to meet patients’ expectations, pharma companies that oversell opioid benefits (and downplay the risks), insurers that fail to flag patients receiving high volumes of opioid prescriptions (and not properly reimbursing therapy) and patients who demand passive treatment.”

Machado argues that to truly change outcomes, “we all need to first change the metric of success” from focusing solely on the elimination of pain to helping patients better understand and manage their pain. Part of that shift, he writes, must include becoming “insistent on the use of physical therapy as an integral treatment component.”

As part of his own efforts to make that shift, Machado describes his participation in a Cleveland Clinic pilot program to treat more than 1,000 patients with chronic leg and back pain with physical therapy and counseling as a first-line response. The key metric of success, he writes, will be “restoration of function.”

“Ultimately, this methodology should serve to lessen the community’s reliance on opioids and improve the utilization—and timing—of invasive procedures,” Machado writes.

APTA has added its voice to the effort to curb opioid abuse through its national #ChoosePT campaign, an initiative to promote physical therapy as a safe and effective alternative to the use of opioids in the treatment of pain. Housed at MoveForwardPT.com/ChoosePT, the #ChoosePT campaign will unfold throughout 2016 and include national online advertising, TV and radio public service announcements, and other targeted advertising and media outreach. APTA is also a member of the White House’s working group addressing the opioid epidemic.

What medications are you taking?

Remember, as I have discussed before:  Physical Therapy can assist in regaining physical strength and function, PT can help with many types of neurological illnesses, back pain,  Osteoarthritis, healing after surgery, stroke patients and many more patients struggling to regain movement.

To get Physical Therapy all you have to do is ask for doctor for an order for Physical Therapy.  At Integrative Therapy and Wellness, LLC, we come to you in the Phoenix area.  Our team works with you after your Physical Therapy Assessment to create goals just for you to regain your physical abilities so you can Engage in Life and Engage in Wellness.  You can contact me at kim@integrativetherapywellnessw.com

Thanks for Reading and Thank your for your comments,

Kim Jacob, PT, CNDT, BCST

https://integrativetherapywellness.com

 

 


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